


Never to be Told

by cresswells



Category: Darkest Powers - Kelley Armstrong, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crossover, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Mystery, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-17
Updated: 2012-08-18
Packaged: 2017-11-12 08:04:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/488577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cresswells/pseuds/cresswells
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a school like Hogwarts keeping secrets never ends well. But as Chloe Saunders will soon find out, she’s not the only student with something to hide…</p><p>Darkest Powers/Harry Potter crossover fic.  Derek/Chloe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> All characters belong to Kelley Armstrong; all settings belong to J.K. Rowling. The main characters are taken from the Darkest Powers trilogy, but there are also some nods to Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld and Darkness Rising series.

Chloe Saunders learned at a very early age that she wasn't like normal children. Normal children, her father had explained to her at the age of eight, didn't hold conversations with people who weren't there. Normal children weren't able to sense that their neighbour's pet cat, Toby, had died before it had even been reported missing. And then there was the babysitter incident. Normal children, the babysitter had shrieked as she ran from the basement drenched from head to foot in Coca Cola, didn't cause _explosions_ whenever they were scared or angry.

So when the letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry arrived, Chloe had been relieved. At least, until her aunt drew her to one side and whispered the words Chloe knew she would never forget. The words she could never tell anyone.

Her aunt's final words to her had haunted Chloe for five years now. She wasn't just different. Chloe Saunders was _unique_. And that made her dangerous.

* * *

"Excellent wand work, Miss Saunders! Ten points to Gryffindor!"

"Thank you, Professor Winterbourne," said Chloe, looking up from her newly-mute gerbil to smile at her favourite teacher. The plump and pretty Charms professor smiled back as she moved to the front of the classroom and clapped her hands together to call the class to silence.

"Now then, class," she began, "I've seen a vast improvement in your practical application of the Silencing Charm, but it's clear from some of the simple mistakes I've seen today that some of you still haven't quite grasped the theory. Remember, you have to understand the basics if you want to pass your O.W.L.s this year."

Everybody groaned. Professor Winterbourne was an excellent teacher, but her enthusiasm for the subject always led her to set extremely difficult end-of-year exams. She insisted that in order to perform more complex magic – the magic everyone was most eager to start practising – one first had to have a solid understanding of the many theories and studies behind each spell.

Chloe's friend and fellow Gryffindor, Rae Rogers, nudged her and whispered conspiratorially, "I've heard Professor Winterbourne's husband is one of our examiners this year. Cortez. You know, the rebel son of the Minister for Magic. Brady told me he's even stricter than Winterbourne. Ugh." Rae made a face.

Chloe frowned. She'd met Professor Winterbourne's husband last summer when she'd run into the two of them examining an ancient book of grimoires in Flourish and Blotts. Lucas Cortez had been pleasant enough, if a bit formal.

Professor Winterbourne announced their homework – "Two scrolls of parchment on the importance of proper enunciation!" – as the students started gathering their belongings. Rae sighed happily.

"Finally!" she said as they exited the Charms classroom and followed the stream of students heading in the direction of the Great Hall, "Dinnertime!"

Somebody sniggered. "Surely dinnertime is the one timetabled period you can afford to skip, _Rachelle_." Chloe whipped around to see Victoria Enright, a sixth-year Slytherin girl, smirking at the back of Rae's head. Rae's dark skin was tinged pink as she too turned to glare daggers at the older girl.

"Tori," she spat looking venomous. "Tell me, how's Moaning Myrtle doing these days? I only ask because I hear you've been spending so much quality time with her recently, both of you sticking your heads down the toilets after every meal – "

Tori paled and her hand went to her wand. "You watch your mouth, Rogers."

"C-c'mon, Rae," Chloe said, tugging on her friend's sleeve. "Ignore her. S-she's not worth your time."

Tori grinned. "Yes, do as C-C-C-Chloe says and run along. Tell me, Saunders, why did the Sorting Hat place _you_ of all people in Gryffindor when everybody knows you're too spineless to string more than two syllables together at wandpoint?"

"B-bravery comes in many forms," Chloe replied hotly, inwardly cursing herself when she heard the tremor in her voice. She couldn't help it. Her stammer emerged whenever she got even the slightest bit flustered or angry.

Tori's friends cackled with glee. Rae raised her wand. In a flash Tori had raised hers too and they stood a few metres apart, each waiting for the other girl to make the first move.

"N-no," Chloe hissed. "I m-mean it Rae. Let's just go, before – "

"Tori?"

Tori's sneer faltered and she lowered her wand. "Liz," she said in a much friendlier tone.

The newcomer frowned. It was Liz Delaney, a bubbly Hufflepuff prefect from Chloe's year. A little naïve but extremely good-hearted, Liz was adored by everybody, students and teachers alike. Not even Tori and her friends were resistant to Liz's charm.

"Tori, Rae," said Liz, looking from one girl to the other. "Would either of you like to explain what's going on?"

Both girls shook their heads. No one liked to upset Liz. It was worse than getting on the wrong side of Professor Danvers, the temperamental Ancient Runes professor.

"Just a misunderstanding, Liz," said Tori in a voice as sweet and thick as honey. "But it's over now. It won't happen again."

"Yeah," Rae mumbled, eyes still fixed on the back of Tori's head. "A misunderstanding."

Liz beamed. "Glad to hear it. Wouldn't want to be late for dinner. I'm starving."

Rae raised her eyebrows as though daring Tori to respond scathingly, but Tori simply smiled at Chloe and Rae and linked her arm through Liz's. The girls walked away, Tori's entourage of friends trailing behind. A few of them sneered at Chloe and Rae as they passed.

"I hate her," Rae said finally, when Tori was out of earshot.

"Hate is a strong word," Chloe said – it was her automatic response. "But I don't like her much, either. C'mon, let's get going."

She tugged Rae's sleeve again and pulled her forward, only to find her path obstructed by a student exiting the nearest classroom. Chloe slammed into him before she could stop herself.

"Oof!"

"Oh!" Chloe exclaimed as her books tumbled from her hands. "S-sorry –"

The student chuckled and stepped back. "It's quite all right."

She looked up. It was Simon Bae, Liz's fellow fifth-year Hufflepuff prefect. Like Liz, there wasn't a single student or teacher who didn't instantly fall for Simon's charm. It wasn't hard to see why he was so well liked – he was the perfect pupil, son of the universally liked Herbology professor _and_ the school's star chaser. Between Simon and Liz, Hufflepuff were well on their way to winning the House Cup this year.

"It's Chloe, right?" said Simon jovially. "I remember you. We were partnered up in the Duelling Club in second-year!"

"Um, yeah," Chloe said, surprised but pleased that someone as popular as Simon would remember such an insignificant event.

Simon beamed. "I was bruised for weeks after that meeting. Never bothered to go back." He glanced at Rae. "And I don't believe we've met."

"Rae Rogers," she said shortly. Her tone was sour and Chloe stole a sideways glance at her friend. She couldn't blame Rae for her mood – rumour had it that Tori had her eye on Simon Bae. Simon's sudden appearance probably wasn't helping Rae forget about their recent run-in with the ice queen.

"Ah," Simon cocked his head to one side, still smiling. "Rogers. I recognise that name! You're Gryffindor's new Beater, right?"

"Yeah," said Rae.

"Well, hey, congrats on your last match against Slytherin. That bludger to Rafe's head really did some damage!"

The corners of Rae's mouth twitched in response to the compliment, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

But Simon didn't seem to notice. He tugged on the strap of his satchel and turned back to Chloe. "You two heading to the Great Hall?"

Chloe nodded.

"Great! I'll tag along."

" _Great_ ," Rae muttered, folding her arms. Chloe wanted to comfort her friend, but Simon's presence prevented her from saying anything Rae might not want overheard. Rae was a good friend, but very private.

"So," said Simon as they walked, "You two got any plans for the next Hogsmede weekend? Because my brother and I…"

Chloe tuned out Simon's chattering as they walked down the staircase and into the Entrance Hall. Before they reached the doors to the Great Hall Chloe reached out to Rae and pulled her back, just out of Simon's earshot.

"Hey," she said, "are you sure you're okay?"

Rae nodded, her dark eyes lowered. "I'm fine."

"Listen, just ignore Tori. She doesn't mean it. She's just trying to get you riled up. It's not –"

"Chloe," Rae snapped. "I mean it. I'm _fine_ , okay? Let me go."

Rae wrenched her arm out of Chloe's grip, brushed past Simon who was still obliviously chattering away and stormed through the doors into the Great Hall. Chloe watched her friend go and frowned. Rae's privacy had never struck her as odd before, but it wasn't like her friend to be so harsh. Unbidden, a sense of unease spread through her as a single thought rose to the foreground of Chloe's mind.

_Perhaps I'm not the only one keeping secrets in this school…_


	2. Chapter Two

The dungeons were Derek Souza's least favourite part of the castle. He tried not to venture down the cold stone steps towards the Potions classroom unless he had to. Walking through those dark, shadowy corridors always brought up bad memories – memories of the years before Kit Bae had taken him in. He'd missed plenty of Potions lessons in his six years at Hogwarts, but the Potions Master rarely minded. Derek was a star pupil. He did his homework, he kept his head down and he had never disrupted a class.

Of course, there was another reason why Professor Davidoff had never confronted Derek about his truancy. _Fear_.

It didn't matter that Derek was the cleverest in his year. Didn't matter that he kept to himself, rarely caused any trouble and rarely ventured out of the library during his free time. No matter how hard he tried to seem unintimidating, some adults would always see him as a troublemaker.

Simon – ever cheerful – would say it was the constant scowl. Their dad would say it was his attitude. _"You might not show it, but your professors can sense which pupils don't respect their authority,"_ Kit Bae always told him. Derek didn't know if this was true or not, but if anyone would know, it was Kit. His adoptive father had been Hogwarts' Herbology professor for the last four years. And it was true enough that Derek didn't respect his professors. There were only two people in the world whose opinions really mattered to him – Simon and Kit.

Derek reached the Potions Master's office and rapped sharply on the door. It swung open immediately.

"Ah, Derek," said Professor Davidoff. The greying professor squinted up at him with an uneasy smile. "Good, you're here."

"You wanted to see me, Sir?" Derek asked. He tried to make the 'sir' sound sincere.

"Yes," Professor Davidoff said, opening his door wider and gesturing for Derek to take a seat inside. "There's a matter I wish to discuss with you. A project of sorts that I've been working on. Something that I believe could be beneficial to the both of us…"

* * *

"What I don't get," Simon was saying as he, Liz and Chloe strolled through the grounds one frosty morning, "is why our Chloe here is a Gryffindor. I've never met anyone so hardworking and loyal. You're more Hufflepuff than half the people we have to share our common room with!"

Liz shook her head, laughing. "Oh, believe me, she's Gryffindor through and through. Just you wait and see."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Stick around Chloe long enough and you'll find out."

Simon raised an eyebrow as Chloe over Liz's shoulder. Chloe smiled and shrugged, veering to the side to avoid a ghostly woman. The Hogwarts grounds were always full of ghosts enjoying the brisk Scottish weather.

It had been two weeks since Chloe had run into Simon in the hallway and now they seemed to be crossing paths every other day. Whenever Simon saw Chloe in the hallway he would call out to her. The first time this had happened Chloe had jumped so high in the air that she'd actually lost her balance and fallen to the floor. Simon had helped her up – apologising profusely – and accompanied her to the Hospital Wing where Madam Levine had given her an ointment for her bruised knees. Since then, Simon had taken to complimenting her a lot. She told herself it was just to make up for startling her that day. It couldn't be anything else.

This morning she'd run into the two prefects as they patrolled the grounds, clearing ice from the paths and checking that any of the younger students venturing outside were wrapped up against the cold weather. Chloe liked to walk outside in the mornings. It cleared her head. Simon had called out to her and he and Liz had offered to walk with her back to the castle.

"Come on, I'm intrigued now," Simon wheedled, nudging Liz's shoulder. "I didn't know you two knew each other so well."

"We don't," Chloe said quickly. "I just… helped Liz out of a sticky situation one time. No biggie."

Liz snorted. "She's being modest. She was a first-year at the time and I was terrified but Chloe came to my rescue. No one else could've helped me."

Chloe shivered, but not from the cold. Dread seeped through her veins. _No one else could have helped me._ Liz didn't know how true her words were. Chloe hastened to change the subject.

"The Sorting Hat did consider putting me in Hufflepuff," she said. "Have all your family been in Hufflepuff, Simon?"

Simon laughed and shook his head. "Nah. Dad was a Gryffindor and my mother went to one of the European schools. And you know my brother, Derek, right?"

Chloe nodded, uneasily. Everyone knew Professor Bae's adopted son by sight, although Chloe had never actually spoken with him. She doubted many students had. He was something of an enigma. Hushed rumours swirled around the school about Derek Souza, the surly Ravenclaw boy.

"And dad's parents came over from Korea, so I'm actually the first Hufflepuff in our family," Simon continued, proudly.

"Me too," said Liz. "Both my parents were muggle-born Ravenclaws."

"My dad's a muggle," Chloe said. "But I'm pretty sure I've got some magical lineage on my mother's side. I mean, my aunt told me –." Chloe stopped abruptly and began to fiddle with the fraying ends of her scarf. "S-she said something like that."

Simon and Liz exchanged glances, but said nothing.

"I really love Muggle Studies," Chloe said suddenly, desperate to fill the awkward silence. "You know those moving pictures muggles watch? They're like enchanted photographs, but they play on a loop and tell a story. They're called movies."

Simon nodded. "Yeah, I've heard of them. Funny how muggles come up with these bizarre ideas."

"Well I love them," Chloe said defensively. "I used to watch tons of movies as a kid. I wanted to be a director. That's someone who makes movies. I don't know what I want to do now. I guess I still want to help the muggle world in some way."

"That's a nice idea," said Liz as they walked up the last few steps and through the grand arched entranceway. "I still have no idea what I want to do when I leave Hogwarts. I just wish I could stay here forever."

Simon grinned. "Professor Vegas told me yesterday that if I didn't get my act together I'd end up staying here forever. Don't know why she cares about her subject so much. I think she just makes it all up."

Chloe shook her head. It was well known that Professor Vegas, the stunningly attractive Divination teacher did possess some inner-eye. Before teaching at Hogwarts she'd travelled around the world performing séances and delivering very accurate prophecies to live audiences of witches and wizards. However, very few students could successfully read the crystal balls and tea leaves in her Divination class. Chloe happened to be one of rare few who could. Professor Vegas claimed that Chloe had a natural gift for the subject.

Chloe was about to reply in Professor Vegas' defence when they turned the corner and came to a halt. The corridor was in a state chaos. Peeves the Poltergeist was dangling overhead from a brick notch in the ceiling, waving two hardback books just out of reach of a very angry Ravenclaw boy. Peeves was cackling madly while the Ravenclaw let out a string of curses. Though the Ravenclaw was twice Peeves' size, Peeves was quick. Every time he lunged, the poltergeist would zoom to the other side of the corridor, leaving the boy growling in frustration.

"Uh oh," Simon muttered, his eyes on the Ravenclaw.

Chloe stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"P-Peeves!"

The poltergeist froze instantly, his cackle echoing hollowly through the corridor and fading as he turned reluctantly towards Chloe. His whole frame seemed to droop to one side as he fixed her with a baleful frown.

"Miss Saunders," he said silkily. "Didn't see you arrive, milady."

"Peeves," Chloe said again in a stern voice. "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

Peeves looked faintly abashed.

"Give him back his books, Peeves."

"C-Course I will, milady. Just as soon as we're finished here. Peevesy was just having a bit of fun. All in good humour, you know –"

" _Now_ , Peeves."

The books fell to the floor at her command. The Ravenclaw boy scrambled to shove them back into his satchel before Peeves attacked again.

"Thank you," Chloe told the poltergeist. "Now leave. And I don't want to see you tormenting people in this corridor again, Peeves, d'you hear?"

Peeves dove down and pulled a grotesque expression that sent Simon and Liz jerking backwards, but he nodded stiffly at Chloe, as if he couldn't control the movement. Then he swooped away down the corridor and out of sight.

Chloe let out a shaky sigh and leaned back against the cold stone wall. She hadn't been sure that he would obey her. She still didn't understand why he did. Why _all_ ghosts did.

Simon let out a low whistle and said, "Okay. Now I understand why you're in Gryffindor."

Liz smiled. "I had some problems with a poltergeist back in second-year. It wouldn't stop following me around everywhere. No one wanted to go near me for weeks, but Chloe sent it packing in less than a minute. But I've _never_ seen anyone stand up to Peeves before. Chloe, that was _amazing_."

Chloe shook her head and smiled. "H-he probably just mistook me for someone else," she said.

"Maybe," said Simon, but he didn't sound convinced. He turned to the Ravenclaw boy who was hanging back, standing in the shadows. "You okay, bro?"

Chloe started. She hadn't paid much attention to the huge, bad-mouthed boy Peeves had been tormenting before now – she'd been preoccupied with standing up to the poltergeist. But now that she saw him properly, she realised who he was.

It was Simon's brother. Derek Souza.

Derek stepped out of the shadow. Chloe had walked past Derek in the hallways before and she'd seen his hulking frame hunched over the Ravenclaw table plenty of times as he devoured twice as much food as the rest of his classmates, but she'd never seen Derek this close up before. The first thing she noticed about Derek Souza now was his eyes. She'd never seen eyes of such a vivid green colour. Even in the half-light they seemed to gleam, like the eyes of a cat.

Derek grunted something – probably a "yes" to Simon as he swung his satchel back over his shoulder. He stepped fully into the light and raked a hand through his black hair. Simon patted him lightly on the back.

It was a bizarre sight. Derek and Simon standing side-by-side looked as different as it was possible to be. Simon was on the short side but he was handsome and had plenty of admirers. It wasn't hard to see why – his exotic looks and easy smile always turned heads. His brother Derek didn't have the same appeal. Tall and wide, Derek Souza always seemed too big for his surroundings. Chloe felt tiny just looking at him. His robes were baggy, while Simon's were freshly pressed. And though Chloe knew that Derek Souza was the smartest in his year, no prefect badge gleamed on _his_ uniform. His dark hair hung in greasy, matted clumps and looked like it hadn't been cut in a while. All in all, Simon gave off the impression that he really cared about his appearance, while Derek's appearance suggested the opposite.

"Um, hi," Chloe squeaked, feeling that she ought to be polite.

Derek glanced at Chloe. For all their depth, his green eyes were expressionless. He muttered something to Simon, slapped him on the back and strode away.

"A thank you would've been nice," Chloe muttered as they watched him leave.

"Don't mind Derek. We're still trying to teach him manners," Simon said jokingly, though his black eyes were full of worry as he stared after his brother.

"We've got to get back to the Common Room before breakfast," Liz reminded Simon, tugging on his arm.

"Right," he said, tearing his eyes away from the spot where Derek had vanished. "Yeah. Let's go. See you, Chloe. Oh, and next time I see you, you've _got_ to tell me how to use that trick on Peeves, deal?"

Chloe grinned. "Deal."

He smiled at her and then sprinted off with Liz. Chloe let her grin drop as soon as they were out of sight.

_Great. Two more people I've slipped up in front of. And if Simon Bae knows about me, the whole school might as well know…_

But he didn't _know_ anything, she reminded herself. Next time she saw him she'd gloss over the entire episode and convince Simon that Peeves had just reacted to her firm tone of voice or something. And if he didn't believe that, she'd figure something out. There was no need to panic.

She turned to head to the Great Hall when something caught her eye. Another book lay open on the floor with its pages bent like Peeves had thrown in away before they'd arrived on the scene. She picked it up, noting its surprising weight and yellowed pages. She turned it in her hands and read the faded title.

_Experimental Potions-Making: Taking the First Steps towards Treating the Currently Untreatable (Volume 1)_

She frowned. Had this book belonged to Derek, too? It must have, though she didn't think it was required reading for sixth-years. This text didn't look like something she'd read about in Potions classes. It looked advanced, far too advanced for a Hogwarts student. Still, she slipped the book into her own satchel and vowed to return it as soon as possible.


	3. Chapter Three

Tori waited until she was sure all the girls in her dormitory were asleep before slipping out of bed, pulling on her dressing gown and tip-toing her way back to the empty Slytherin Common Room in the dead of night.

The Slytherin Common Room was one of Tori's favourite places in the castle. The green-tinged lighting was beautifully atmospheric and the fire in the grate was enchanted to never go out, so despite the fact that their Common Room was hidden beneath the depths of the castle, it always felt warm and welcoming whenever she stepped through the stone dungeon doors. But tonight the emptiness made the room feel cold. She shivered and pulled her thin dressing gown tighter around her.

She reached into her pyjama pocket and withdrew the pouch of ash she'd been saving for this moment. She threw the Floo Powder into the fire and watched as the flames surged, turning bright green. Bending to her knees in front of the grate, she stretched forward until her face was completely submerged by the flames and whispered, _"Lyle House"_.

At once she felt herself transported to the grand Victorian mansion she'd spent the summer in – though her body was still securely kneeling on the plush carpeted dungeon floor. When she looked up she saw a stern-faced, black-haired lady rushing towards her.

"Tori!" the woman whispered. "I do wish you wouldn't just drop in unannounced like this! You'd better have a good reason for contacting me this time."

Tori smiled, grimly. What had she been expecting? A warm, loving welcome? No. They were past that.

"Hello, Mother," she whispered. "There's something I need to tell you. It's happened."

* * *

"Hey," Chloe said casually to her fellow fifth-year Gryffindor girls at breakfast the next morning. "Have any of you ever spoken to Derek Souza?"

"Souza?" Miranda shuddered in disgust. "I heard that boy's part troll. It would explain _a lot_." She motioned waving away a bad smell and she and Beth both laughed cruelly.

Kari shook her head. "I heard he had giant blood. That's why he's so huge."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Only last week you were spreading that rumour that he's a werewolf. It's no wonder he always looks so grumpy, with these ridiculous rumours following him everywhere he goes."

Miranda raised her eyebrows. "Why are _you_ suddenly so defensive over him?"

Chloe shrugged. " _Have_ you ever spoken to him?" she asked again.

"No," Miranda said, as though the mere idea of speaking with Derek Souza disgusted her. Chloe shook her head and turned back to her bowl of porridge. They used to be so close, but she didn't know why she bothered to put up with Miranda, Beth or Kari these days.

Rae smiled at Chloe sympathetically. Rae had been distant over the last couple of weeks but she seemed to be making an extra effort this morning to be friendly. Chloe smiled back – and then yelped in shock as an owl flying overhead dropped a note in her porridge bowl. She picked it up and was surprised to see her name penned in elegant lettering. She didn't usually get many letters. Chloe ripped it open quickly.

"What's that?" asked Rae.

"It's a note from Professor Davidoff," Chloe said as she scanned the letter. "I'm to attend a remedial Potions class tonight at eight o'clock." She frowned. "I didn't think my last essay was _that_ bad…"

"At least it's with Davidoff," Rae said. Professor Davidoff was her favourite teacher and he did little to hide that Rae was his favourite student. As a result, he was usually kind to Chloe too.

"Yeah," Chloe sighed. "But extra lessons… ugh."

* * *

The rest of the day passed slowly for Chloe. Derek Souza's book was still tucked away in her satchel, but the opportunity to return it to him didn't present itself. She didn't pass him in the corridors and she only caught a glimpse of him sitting at the Ravenclaw table at dinnertime. At seven o'clock she found herself sitting in front of the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room with Derek's book open in her lap. But the text was far too complicated for her understanding. She flicked through the pages, noting complex diagrams and lengthy descriptions of plant usages. One page had been folded over and she turned to it, her curiosity aroused. But it was only a page describing the many uses of wolfsbane in lengthy detail. She sighed and closed the book. Perhaps she'd just give it to Simon the next time she saw him. That would distract him from asking her about Peeves.

Rae was doodling a phoenix in flight, red and yellow flames flickering out from its tail-feathers. She sighed happily and said, "D'you think the rumours that Professor St. Cloud has a pet phoenix in his office are true?"

Chloe shrugged. "How should I know? I can't even remember the last time we saw him at a feast."

In fact, now that she thought about it, Chloe was sure that she hadn't seen their distant headmaster since the start of the term, months ago. But that wasn't surprising – most students believed he didn't even live in the castle – just dropped by every now and then to check on the progress other teachers had made during his absence.

Rae put down her pencil and stretched her legs out in front of the fire. "So, I saw your admirer today," she said conversationally.

"Ad-admirer?" Chloe spluttered. "Since when do I have an _admirer_?"

Rae grinned. "Simon Bae. You know he's had his eye on you for weeks now."

Chloe shook her head. "He's a friend, that's all."

"He likes you," Rae said firmly. "I can tell. He wouldn't make so much effort to be your friend if he didn't."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chloe asked, stung.

Rae shrugged. "I don't mean that you're not worth it. 'Course you are. But I know guys like Simon. Last month the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Quidditch teams met for a friendly practice session on the grounds and we all went for a butterbeer afterwards. He spent the whole night chatting up our Captain and never once looked my way. Girls like me, we're beneath him." She gestured to her shabby robes. "But now that he's chasing after you, I'm someone worth spending time with." She shook her head in disgust.

Chloe was shocked. "You're not… jealous, are you?" she asked timidly.

Rae snorted. "'Course I'm not. I just don't like the guy. He's charming, sure, but only to people he thinks have something to offer him. Have you seen how he treats Tori? She was blatantly flirting with him the other day and he walked away while she was in mid-sentence."

"So… you're warning me away from him?" Chloe asked incredulously.

"No." Rae grinned. "By all means, girl, enjoy the attention of a cute guy while you've got it! I just wanted to make sure you knew that he's not as friendly to everyone else as he is to you. But hey, no one's perfect, right?"

"Right." Chloe thanked Rae and collected her books together. She left Derek's book on the table beside her chair – it was too heavy to carry with her potions equipment so she'd return it to her dormitory later. "I'd better make my way to the dungeons."

"Oh, right, Davidoff's lesson. Good luck!" said Rae.

Chloe waved goodbye to her friend as she ducked through the portrait hole. Rae's advice kept her mind occupied from the moment she left Gryffindor Tower to the moment she arrived outside Davidoff's study. In fact, she was so lost in thought that she might have wandered straight in if the voices inside hadn't caught her attention.

"Good, good. That'll be all for today, I'm afraid. I have another appointment with a student in a few minutes. I look forward to hearing your results – am I correct in thinking that it will occur three nights from now?"

A grunt of assent. Then the door opened and Chloe found herself facing the brother of the boy she'd just been thinking about. Derek Souza, still in his Ravenclaw robes, glared down at her. Then he seemed to recognise her and he frowned in confusion.

"Oh!" Chloe exclaimed, drawing back from the door quickly. "S-sorry! I –"

She broke off as Derek stepped out from Professor Davidoff's office, his bright green eyes locking onto hers once more before flickering away.

"Same time next week then, Mr Souza?" Chloe heard Professor Davidoff call.

"Yeah," Derek said in a low rumble. Chloe realised it was the first time she'd heard him up close. His voice sounded gruffer than she'd expected.

He looked at her again, the faintest trace of puzzlement in his expression. Then he turned and walked away, back up the flights of stairs towards the Entrance Hall.

Chloe stood very still for a moment, watching him leave. Then she knocked cautiously on the half-open door to Professor Davidoff's study.

"Ah, Miss Saunders," said Davidoff. As she peered in he bustled to the front of his desk. "You're early. You just caught the end of one of my other remedial lessons. But please do come in, and close the door behind you."

Chloe frowned. Derek was taking remedial potions lessons, too? But why would Derek need remedial lessons? Everybody knew how clever he was. And she remembered the book she'd left in Gryffindor tower. Anyone reading a book on developing their own potions surely didn't need extra lessons to catch up.

She put her down satchel and looked up just to see Davidoff throw a length of black cloth over his cluttered desk – the same desk he'd been standing in front of as she entered. It was as if he wanted to hide something from her, she realised. A trickle of fear ran down her spine at the thought but she shook it off. It was well known among the students and staff that Professor Davidoff was a private person.

"So," Chloe said, "was there something wrong with my last test paper, Professor?"

"Well yes," said Professor Davidoff, smiling benignly, "That's what I wanted to discuss with you. But I wonder if you might be willing to do me a favour before we begin?" He withdrew a small vial from a fold in his robes and continued before Chloe could reply. "This here is a little potion I've been brewing for many months. I've tested it on myself and many other willing subjects already with successful results. The ingredients are all completely harmless, of course. If you don't want to try it, I would understand, but I think you'll find that it could be surprisingly beneficial to you."

Chloe felt as though a lump was caught in her throat. Now she _really_ felt afraid. Professor Davidoff had never scared her before – but then she'd never been alone in a dungeon at night with him before, either. And she was still on guard from his suspicious meeting with Derek.

"W-what does it do?" she asked.

Professor Davidoff laughed heartily. "Oh, did I not say? Silly me! It's nothing to be afraid of, dear girl – no. It merely clears the mind, keeps you calm. It's a useful little remedy for nervousness, I've found."

He pushed the bottle closer to her and Chloe found her hand wrapping around it. His eyes watched her carefully. Despite Davidoff's casual words she knew she didn't really have a choice. Could she pretend to drink it? She considered it as she raised the bottle to her lips but the professor was watching her too keenly. Almost against her will, she took a sip. The clear liquid trickled down her throat and left a sickly sweet aftertaste behind.

"Excellent!" said Professor Davidoff, clapping his hands together and beaming down at Chloe. "Now, let's get started, shall we? There were a few simple but disastrous errors in your last test paper, Miss Saunders that I thought best to go over with you in private, to save you from embarrassment in front of your classmates. Your answer for question 2b, for example…"

Chloe nodded along and spoke when prompted to for the rest of the evening, but her mind was clouded with dread. What had she done? What effect would this potion have on her? And what secrets was her potions professor hiding from her?


	4. Chapter Four

Simon paced back and forth outside the Prefect bathrooms anxiously.

It was a quarter to nine and Derek was cutting it dangerously close to curfew time. _Where was he?_ Simon had asked Derek to meet him at eight o'clock but he still hadn't showed. He was considering marching up to Ravenclaw Tower and using his Prefect privileges to somehow gain entrance when he saw a flicker of movement in the shadows. A moment later, Derek appeared by his side. He was still wearing his school robes, though his Ravenclaw tie was askew and he seemed out of breath.

Simon let out a sigh of relief and thinly-veiled annoyance. "Finally. Where've you been? I've been waiting here for almost an hour."

Derek shrugged. "Sorry. Had a meeting with a teacher."

Simon's voice dropped to a whisper. "Davidoff _again_?"

Derek's eyes darted back and forth as though he expected eavesdroppers to come darting out from behind the tapestries and suits of armour lining the stone walls. Slowly, he nodded.

"I still think we need to tell Dad about this."

"No." Derek's voice was firm. "We can't get him involved. Davidoff's got more power in this school than the rest of the teachers combined. One word to Professor St. Cloud and he could have Dad fired. Then where would we be?"

Simon nodded. "Yeah. You're right. I just don't like this. I'm worried for you, bro."

Derek smiled faintly. "Don't be. I know what I'm doing. And Davidoff got sloppy today. I caught another one of his test subjects going in as I left his office."

"Really?" Simon perked up instantly. This was the first progress they'd had in discovering what Davidoff was up to since Derek's first meeting with the Potions Master. "Who is it?"

Derek hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "I don't think you know her."

Simon frowned. "Derek, maybe I should handle this. You focus on getting info from Davidoff himself; let me talk to his recruits."

Derek shook his head. "Trust me. I can handle this."

Simon wanted to argue but Derek yawned suddenly, raking his hair back from his face. Simon hadn't noticed before, but his brother looked tired. _Really tired._ He wondered how long it had been since Derek had gotten a full night of sleep.

"You okay?" he asked now. "You look dead on your feet. Wait – it's not tonight, is it? I thought– "

"No," Derek interrupted. "It's not tonight. Three nights from now."

Simon nodded. "Right. Good. You'd better get some sleep then. Just… talk to me first before you do anything stupid or reckless, okay?"

Derek grunted his assent. With a parting tap on the shoulder he disappeared back into the shadows and was gone. Simon sighed. No matter how much Derek looked out for him, it still always seemed like he constantly had to watch his brother's back.

 _If only Derek was as paranoid about his own safety as he is about mine_ , he thought gloomily. _Then maybe we wouldn't be in this mess…_

* * *

Chloe awoke the following morning with a pounding headache.

She dressed for breakfast sluggishly, her mind struggling to break through the dense fog that seemed to have clouded her thoughts overnight. Her remedial potions lesson with Professor Davidoff seemed like a dream. Had he really given her a mysterious potion before their lesson? Had she really seen Derek Souza exiting Davidoff's office at a suspiciously late hour? Even her chat with Rae beforehand seemed to have a dreamlike quality to it. She remembered the phoenix Rae had drawn, its tail-feathers caught alight in flames of gold and orange, but the words of their conversation escaped her…

"Chloe? Earth to Chloooo-ee!" Miranda waved her hand in front of Chloe's face, jerking her out of her daze.

"S-sorry," Chloe said with a hesitant smile. "What were you saying?"

Miranda shook her head, indicating that it didn't matter. Rae, who was sitting on the edge of her bed tugging her shoes on, looked over curiously. "You okay?" she mouthed.

Chloe nodded, but her thoughts were still churning. Even as the Gryffindor girls made their way down to breakfast, chattering away as per usual, Chloe found that she couldn't concentrate on the conversation.

 _Something is different,_ she thought anxiously. _Something is wrong. Something is terribly, terribly wrong._

Her heart pounded in her chest but her mind was still moving too slowly. It wasn't until they reached the tall oak doors to the Great Hall that she realised what was it was that made her heart thump so. She gasped in shock, one hand reaching for the stone wall to steady herself.

"Chloe?" Kari asked. "What's wrong?"

"W-Where… where're all the ghosts?" she whispered, hardly able to believe the sight in front of her.

The Great Hall, like the Hogwarts grounds, was usually packed so full of ghosts in the morning that she could never get to the Gryffindor table without passing through a few. They never seemed to mind or even notice, but everyone walked through them as though they weren't even there and Chloe did the same.

Today, they really _weren't_ there. And yet the students and teachers seemed to be acting as though nothing was different.

"What are you talking about, Chloe?" Rae asked with a frown. "Look, there's Nearly-Headless Nick, right there."

Chloe saw the Gryffindor ghost gliding across the back of the hall in deep conversation with the Grey Lady and shook her head.

"N-No, I don't mean the ones that talk. I mean the others. Where's the rest?"

The girls stared at her with identical blank faces.

"Chloe," Beth said slowly. "All the ghosts talk. You know that – you're always speaking with them. There are no _others_."

Chloe let out a quiet cry and felt her knees give way; she fell to the floor, her hands grappling for support, searching for anything to help keep her grounded in reality. _This couldn't be happening…_

"Chloe? Chloe!" She felt a strong hand on her shoulder and heard the rustle of silk skirts. Professor Winterbourne. She looked up, wanting to reassure her favourite teacher that everything was fine, but she caught another glimpse of the empty Great Hall behind her and the room began to spin.

"They're gone," she murmured to herself, still reaching out with her hands as though she could pull the spirits back from wherever they had disappeared to. "Gone. Gone, gone, gone…"

"She's in hysterics," Professor Winterbourne was saying loudly. "Somebody fetch Madam Levine, now!"

A hand reached up to push her flailing arm back to her side and then everything went black and she was falling… falling… falling…

* * *

She woke up in a hospital bed with the fussy matron Madam Levine at her side.

The Hospital Wing was one of Chloe's least favourite parts of the castle, yet she had the uncanny ability to end up in one of these beds every few weeks due to her klutziness. Madam Levine checked her temperature and gave her a potion for dizziness before informing her that she'd fainted due to a mild panic attack earlier that morning.

"It's not uncommon for fifth-years and seventh-years to overwork themselves at this time of year," Madam Levine explained as she made the bed beside Chloe's. "Stress, that's what brought this on. I want you to stay in this bed for the duration of today. I'll send an owl around the school to explain your absence to your teachers. What you need is a day off."

Chloe tried to stutter a protest, but Madam Levine was a stubborn woman and she refused to allow Chloe to leave the room. "You're staying here until tonight and that's final," she insisted.

Which left Chloe with hours to spare… hours in which she had nothing to do but think of the terrible discovery she had made as she walked into the Great Hall earlier that morning. For the past five years she'd assumed that everybody saw the swarms of ghosts that haunted the school's halls, and she'd never questioned why only a select few of the ghosts had ever spoken to her or acknowledged the living students in their midst. Chloe was a quiet girl and now that she thought about it, she'd never had any reason to discuss the ghosts around them before. Like the moving staircases and the talking paintings she'd just taken them in her stride. She should have realised that not everything in Hogwarts could be trusted.

What had caused the sudden change? Had her abilities left her? She reached up to clutch at the ruby pendant she always wore as a good luck charm. It calmed her. She took deep breaths and tried to think it through clearly.

She clearly had a special sight and it _had_ to have something to do with her power. Could the potion that Professor Davidoff gave her have affected her sight somehow? But no, that was impossible. He didn't know. Nobody knew…

Chloe's aunt had told her very little about her _unique abilities_ before she'd disappeared from her life forever – only that her family was cursed with power over the dead. But Chloe's power was different. Chloe's power was unique.

 _Too strong,_ her aunt had said. _We tried to save you from the family curse. We did everything we could. There was a man – he said he'd help us. He promised that he could cure you and like fools your mother and I believed him. But he only made things worse… dreadfully worse… your power is unique. It's too strong. Tell nobody of it. Nobody must know…_

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the fear in her aunt's voice. Fear not for her, but _of_ her.

She wasn't sure how long she lay there, trying and failing to think of anything but the family curse, but eventually the clearing of a throat lifted her from her thoughts. Her eyes flew open and she jumped into a sitting position, dragging the bed sheets up to her chest as she did so.

It was Derek Souza. He was looming over her bed, arms crossed, staring down at her with that same curious expression she'd seen the last time they'd crossed paths. His dark hair hung lank and flat across his green eyes, partly shading his face. But there was something different about him today, something in his eyes that she hadn't seen before. She glanced around. The chair beside her bed was empty and Madam Levine was nowhere in sight. For some reason she was uncomfortably aware of the embarrassingly thin regulation Hospital Wing nightgown she was wearing.

"W-What are you doing here?" Chloe asked, inwardly wincing as she realised how rude she sounded.

If Derek was affronted he didn't show it. He took a step forward, still openly staring at her. Chloe felt a blush rise to her cheeks. She felt like she was being examined without knowing why.

"It was Davidoff, wasn't it?" Derek said abruptly. Despite the blunt words, his voice was low and quiet. "He did something to you."

"I-I-I don't you what y-y-y-"

"Slow down," Derek said impatiently. "Davidoff gave you something, didn't he? A potion?"

Chloe's mind was racing. How did he know? She bit her lip, not knowing what to say.

"Listen, I don't care what you are or what he's offering," Derek said brusquely. "But you can't trust him."

"W-What I am?"

Derek made a noise low in his throat like a growl and leaned forward, his hands curling around the bars of her bed.

"Save the denials. I'm not interested. I'm just here to warn you. Whatever Davidoff's promised you, it's a lie. You can't trust a word he says."

Chloe's mind was reeling. Just a few minutes – or hours – ago she'd decided to put Professor Davidoff and the mysterious potion he'd given her out of her mind and now Derek Souza of all people was accusing him of… what, exactly? Had Professor Davidoff poisoned her? No, poison didn't make you see things – or _stop_ seeing them.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Chloe slowly. "I had a remedial Potions lesson with Professor Davidoff yesterday. He asked if I would be willing to try a new potion he'd been brewing and I accepted. But that potion had nothing to do with what happened this morning."

Derek shook his head. "You're lying."

"I'm not."

Derek took a step back and raked a hand through his hair in frustration. Chloe couldn't help but stare at him as he'd been staring at her just a moment before. His eyes unnerved her. They seemed to see right through her skin. And she could see that he didn't believe a word she had said. Yet there was definitely something different about him today. If only she could figure out what it was…

"Look, you're not the only student Davidoff's brewing potions for," Derek said in that same low, quiet rumble. "He's working on a cure for me, too. And there're other students. Kids like us with something to hide. He's collecting us, toying with us. Whatever he's told you, it's not true. By all means, nod along with what he tells you, pretend to drink the potions he gives you, but don't let him reel you in."

Chloe stared. It was the most she – or probably anyone else in the entire school, save Simon – had ever heard Derek Souza speak. He looked almost wild now, his eyes gleaming, his forehead beaded with sweat. He tore his eyes away from hers and she realised what it was that was so different about him today.

She'd walked past him in hallways and seen him numerous times over the past five years eating in the Great Hall or poring over books in the library. He'd always been intimidating and expressionless and like most students she'd instinctively avoided catching his eye. But now, for the first time in five years, Derek Souza looked frightened.

She couldn't help it. She leaned forward, reaching out towards him with one hand. She wasn't sure why – she barely knew the guy and he certainly wasn't being friendly – but she knew that Derek Souza was in trouble.

"A-are you okay?" she asked.

Derek looked up and seeing her hand inches away from his face he jerked back, eying her hand warily as if she were pointing a wand at him. She dropped her hand back to the bed, feeling foolish.

"I told you, I'm just warning you," Derek said again, avoiding her question. "That's it. Take it or leave it. But if you're going to keep accepting potions from Davidoff, stay away from my brother."

"Wh-what?" Chloe spluttered, her cheeks reddening as she thought of Simon. What did he have to do with this?

"You heard me." Derek fixed her with a steely glare. "If you're willing to swallow Davidoff's lies and do as he says, stay the hell away from Simon. That's a warning."

Chloe knew she should feel scared. But instead, rage washed over her. She'd reached out to him and for what? For him to throw it back in her face and threaten her? She wouldn't stand for that.

"Does your brother know you're here?" she asked and for once she didn't waver over the words. Her anger gave her strength. "How d'you think he'll react if I tell him you came in here and tried to scare me away from him?"

Derek looked away, scratching absently at his arm. "Go ahead. Simon's not stupid. He'd know there's more going on. And then he'll figure out what you are himself." He eyed her speculatively again. "Whatever you are, if you've caught Davidoff's interest, it's nothing good."

There were those words again. _Whatever you are._ As if she was a thing. A monster. He said he didn't care, but the flicker of curiosity in Derek's eyes betrayed his interest. This time, she didn't bother to correct him. It was probably safer to let Derek believe that she truly was something dangerous. And a little voice in the back of her head whispered that he was right to fear her. She wasn't like normal girls. She wasn't even like normal witches. Her Aunt Lauren's last words to her had made that _very_ clear.

"You've been meeting with Professor Davidoff in secret as well, haven't you, Derek?" she said now. "Which means you're some kind of monster too." She drew back the covers and slid from the hospital bed to stand in front of him, locking her arms across her chest defensively. Although he still towered above her and she still had to tilt her head back to meet his eyes, she felt better standing up to him on two feet. "Well, from one monster to another, you don't scare me. _So run along_."

He narrowed his eyes. For the first time since he'd threatened her, she really _did_ feel scared.

And then he glanced towards the Hospital Wing doors, eyes widening slightly. He shook his head and stepped back, as if in retreat.

"Can't say I didn't warn you," he muttered.

A second later the doors swung open. A blonde head peered around the door.

"Chloe!" Simon emerged fully, carrying with him a plate laden with food. He must have come straight from the Great Hall. Chloe felt a rush of gratitude towards him even as the confusion set in even further. Derek had skipped dinner to speak with her?

Simon stopped in his tracks as he noticed Derek. "Oh. Derek? What are you doing here? Did you hurt yourself?"

Derek shoved his hands into the pockets of his Ravenclaw robes and mumbled something unintelligible. Without so much as a goodbye he side-stepped Simon and stalked out the door before either of them could say another word.

Simon frowned after his brother and in that frown Chloe thought she caught a glimpse of the same fear she'd seen in Derek's eyes. She shivered. Now that Derek was gone and with him, the rush of anger-fed adrenaline, she suddenly realised how cold it was. She wished she was still curled up in bed, dead to the world.

"Hey," Simon said, wrenching his eyes away from the door as if just remembering why he had come. He lifted the plate in his hand. "I saw that you weren't at the Gryffindor table so I brought you some dinner. Figured you'd be here. I heard what happened at breakfast. You okay?"

Chloe nodded, a blush rising to her cheeks as she remembered Rae's words from the previous night. _You know he's had his eye on you for weeks now._

"Thank you," she said with a genuine smile. "This is really sweet."

Simon grinned, as he settled into the chair beside her bed. She sat on the bed next to him and began to eat.

"You know why Derek was here?" Simon asked, glancing back at the doors one last time as though he was torn between keeping her company and going after his brother.

She shook her head. "No idea," she said. It wasn't really a lie. She really didn't know why he'd felt the need to confront her.

_But I'm going to find out._


	5. Chapter Five

Liz gasped for breath as she ran through the twisting network of corridors that made up the Hogwarts dungeons, wondering how it was possible to get so hopelessly lost beneath the castle she'd called home for the last six years. She hadn't known that the Hogwarts dungeons were so endlessly vast. It was like racing through a dark, dank maze, except Liz had no idea if she even wanted to reach the middle. She just wanted to _escape_.

She stopped running and slumped against the cold stone wall, choking back a sob. How could she have gotten herself into such a mess? How could she have been so _stupid_?

It had all started with a sheet of parchment. She hadn't intended to read it. But as she waited in Davidoff's office for the professor to return and relieve her of her prefect duties, she'd seen her name written in Davidoff's cursive lettering. She hadn't been able to resist the temptation to take a peek. And now she was paying the price.

Liz fumbled in the pocket of her robes for her wand. It was pointless to run any further. If what Davidoff had written about her was true, her very life was in danger. He knew the dungeons better than she did. But she wasn't about to go down without a fight. Liz raised her wand, arm trembling as her persecutor rounded the corner, breathing heavily.

"Ex-Expelliarmus!" Liz shouted, waving her wand wildly. Davidoff darted out of the way and her spell rebounded off the stone wall. The floor shook with the force of the impact. Liz raised her arm to try again, but Davidoff was quicker. With a simple flick of his wand, she tripped. Her wand flew out of her hand, landing with a clatter just a few stone tiles out of reach.

Davidoff stepped towards her, a cold gleam of triumph in his eye.

"No," Liz whispered, still straining for her wand as she looked up into the eyes of the professor who, until now, Liz had never had a reason to fear. "Please…"

"I'm sorry," Davidoff said and his voice held genuine regret. "I did try to fix you. You and the others. But you're an abomination, Elizabeth. A failed project. And now that you know too much, I'm afraid I can't allow you to leave these dungeons alive."

"B-but I'm cured!" Liz protested, her voice shaking with terror. "Chloe Saunders sent the poltergeist away! P-Please…"

Davidoff laughed. "You've seen my report," he said. "You know now that there is more to your condition than the rogue poltergeist I ordered to trail you during your second year. It was a ruse, nothing more. Did you not wonder why the strangeness continued even after little Chloe ordered the bad ghost away?"

Liz's eyes widened as he raised his wand. "No! Wait!"

She stretched her arm out across the tiled floor and though her wand was still too far from her reach, she saw it twitch, as though it was straining to reach her too. Davidoff saw the movement and stamped down, hard. Her wand snapped beneath his boot. Her last hope was gone.

"I'll have none of your tricks used against me," he hissed. "It's over. I truly am sorry, Elizabeth." And then he whispered two words Liz thought she'd never hear and she was blinded by the brilliant green light that swept over her, robbing her of her breath as it rushed through her body, tearing into her very soul –

She slumped onto the floor, her now-empty eyes still wide with fear.

Davidoff stared down at the body for one long moment. Then he raised his wand again. It was time to dispose of the evidence.

* * *

Chloe's first point of action when she finally left the Hospital Wing the following morning was to track down Rae. Spending the night in the Hospital Wing had given her plenty of time to dwell on her confrontation with Derek Souza and she realised that if she wanted to know for certain whether or not she could trust Derek's judgement of Professor Davidoff, she'd have to look into his accusations herself. That meant snooping around. Luckily, Chloe wasn't a stranger to snooping around the castle. But if she was going to pull this off, she needed her partner in crime.

It was a Saturday, so tracking Rae down wasn't a problem. Chloe and her fellow fifth-year Gryffindor girls usually spent Saturday mornings lounging around the lake, whatever the weather. She found them in their usual spot, beneath the willow trees. Rae called out to her as she approached.

"Hey, girl! Good to see you walking again!"

Chloe smiled. "You make it sound like I was on death's door. I'm fine, really."

She glanced towards the other girls, who had stopped talking, but hadn't greeted her as Rae had. Instead, they stared at her as if worrying that Chloe would suddenly start screaming about ghosts again. Chloe would have found their expressions comical if they hadn't been directed at her.

 _Great. Now even my best friends think I've gone crazy,_ she thought. She plastered a smile onto her face as she sat down, doing her best to integrate herself into the conversation. But not even five minutes later, Rae stood up.

"Got to get down to the pitch," she said, shouldering her broomstick and Beater bat. Chloe had forgotten that Rae usually trained during the early afternoon.

"I'll walk with you," she said quickly, clambering to her feet. Rae accepted and they said goodbye to the other girls.

"You sure you're okay after yesterday?" Rae asked as they walked.

"Yeah," Chloe said, wishing she could confide in Rae as she so desperately wished to. "It was just a panic attack, like Madam Levine said. I'm fine now."

Chloe could feel Rae's eyes on her, but the other girl simply replied, "Good. That's good." They moved on to other subjects while they walked and soon enough, the mood had lightened and they were laughing and joking together as they neared the Quidditch stands.

"So say I knew somebody who wanted to break into one of the teachers' offices," Chloe said eventually with a wicked grin, "Would that somebody be able to rely on your help getting in and out?"

"Hell yes!" Rae said with a whoop of delight. "God, it's been so long since you've been willing to bend the rules! Whose office are we snooping around in? St. Cloud's? _Please_ say it's St. Cloud's. I've been dying to set that poor phoenix free."

"Rae, phoenixes can't be kept against their will. They're immortal. They're free to choose their own masters," Chloe said patiently. "St. Cloud probably doesn't even have a phoenix." _You just want to believe he does,_ she added in her head, _because you're obsessed with creatures born of fire._ Chloe had never understood Rae's obsession with phoenixes, dragons and other such creatures. She thought it best not to ask about it.

Rae shrugged. "Only way to know for sure would be to find a way in and see for ourselves," she said.

Chloe grinned, shaking her head. Rae could be so stubborn sometimes, but it was one of the things she liked most about her fiery friend. No matter what, Rae could always be counted on to say what she believed and do what she thought was right. It was her very own kind of bravery.

"I don't want to get into St. Cloud's office," Chloe said, choosing her next words with care. "I was actually thinking of Davidoff. Th-The last time I was there I saw an old essay of mine w-with some private notes on it… I… I want to know what it says."

Chloe cursed her stutter; sure that Rae would see straight through the lie. But her friend didn't say a word.

"Rae?"

Rae stopped walking and turned on her. Her expression was dark. Something startlingly close to fury clouded her eyes.

"I thought you liked Professor Davidoff," Rae said slowly.

"I-I do–"

"So why on earth would you want to go snooping around his office?"

"I t-told you –"

" _Please_ ," Rae rolled her eyes. "As if anything in Davidoff's office could be of interest to _you_. You're barely even passing his class. You're taking remedial lessons, for goodness sake."

Chloe felt her cheeks redden as she clenched her fists in anger. Despite Rae's fierce temper, they'd never fought before. But one mention of Davidoff and suddenly Rae had flared up. _Why?_

"Look," Chloe said, trying to keep her cool. "I just want to snoop around his office, take a look at some of his private notes. Nothing we haven't done before. D'you want to help me or not? It's okay if you don't. I know Davidoff is your favourite teacher."

"Yeah, and I'm his favourite student," Rae said, and then she paused. "This is about me, isn't it?" Her voice took on a shrill pitch and her eyes widened as she spoke. "This is all about me!" She took a step towards Chloe and then another, moving so suddenly that Chloe took a step back in alarm. Rae looked almost mad.

"You're jealous," she accused, pointing a finger at Chloe's chest. "Because Davidoff's the only teacher in the whole school who prefers me over sweet, perfect Chloe Saunders. You just want to get me in trouble with Davidoff so he won't trust me anymore!"

Chloe gaped, incoherent with disbelief and fury. How could Rae, her best friend, honestly think so little of her? Why was she so determined to protect Davidoff that she'd jump to such conclusions? And didn't she realise how little sense her theory made?

"Rae –" Chloe began, with the intention of spilling all her secrets in that moment. But Rae turned towards the Quidditch stands and let out a derisive laugh.

"Oh, look," she spat. "It's lover boy. Why don't you run off to your new boyfriend, Chloe, forget about the only friend who's stuck by your side for the last five years. I'm sure you'd rather have his company than mine. I'll see you at dinner." And with that, she flung her bat over her shoulder, span on her heel and marched towards the Quidditch pitch, dragging her broomstick behind her.

Chloe's vision blurred as Simon Bae strode up, raising his eyebrows at Rae's retreating form. "I'd ask what's got her wand in a knot but after the stink-eye she gave me as I passed, I'm not sure I want to know," he said lightly. He turned to Chloe and his grin faded. "Hey," he said. "You okay?"

Chloe realised with a flare of embarrassment that she was crying. "Oh," she said, wiping her eyes on the wide sleeves of her robes. "I-It's fine. I'm f-f-fine. Really."

"No you're not," Simon said matter-of-factly. "D'you want to talk about it?"

Chloe shook her head adamantly. She did want to talk about it – about _everything_. But she wasn't sure she could. Everything – even the fight with Rae – was too wrapped up in the secret kept closest to her heart. The secret she couldn't share with anyone. The secret nobody even knew she was keeping. Well, nobody except…

 _Derek_.

Chloe's mind whirled, a thought occurring to her. After their altercation yesterday just the thought of being in the same room as him made her shudder, but if there was one person she could speak freely to, it was him. Sure, she still didn't entirely trust Simon's brother and she wouldn't be able to pour her heart out like she wanted to. But it was a start. And, more importantly, finding and speaking to Derek would keep her mind off her fall-out with Rae.

"I'm fine," she said again, and this time she meant it. She smiled up at Simon. "Are you heading back to the castle?"

By the time they reached the castle, the sting of Rae's betrayal had almost faded completely. As distractions went, Simon was a good one – chatting away as they walked about the comic he was working on. He showed her an enchanted doodle of a big black wolf chasing his tail, which made Chloe laugh. Simon was extraordinarily good with a quill. She wished she had a talent like his, and told him so.

"Quit it, you'll make me blush," Simon said, prodding her in the ribs. She squealed and jerked away. They were both giggling as they stepped into the Entrance Hall.

Simon was the first to regain control of his laughter. "So, Saunders, any plans for today?" he asked, still grinning, as they stopped by the grand staircase. His tone was casual. _Too casual_. All of a sudden, Chloe was reminded that Simon might not just consider her a friend. Her laughter faded and nervousness set in.

"Oh, uh," she stammered, shoving her hands into the pockets of her robes as she felt her palms grow sweaty, "I was thinking of going to the library. Catching up on the work I missed yesterday."

It wasn't exactly a lie – Chloe had no doubts that she'd find Derek sitting alone in the library while everyone else enjoyed the good weather outside. But Chloe still blushed, whether from the lie or Simon's gaze, she wasn't sure.

Simon's grin didn't fade. "Right. Always so studious. I'll see you later, then?"

She smiled, though she felt suddenly queasy and faint. "Sure."

Simon turned away from the staircase, making his way in the direction of the Hufflepuff Common Room. Chloe waited until he was out of sight before sitting down on the nearest step and putting her head in her hands.

God, what was wrong with her? She really enjoyed Simon's company and she knew he liked her too. He was funny and cute and incredibly popular. So why was it that as soon as she thought about him romantically her mind froze and she felt like she was choking –suffocating even – on the lump in her throat?

 _You're just scared,_ she told herself. _It's because you've never had a boyfriend before. It's completely normal to be nervous._

She had to get a grip, and the only way to do that would be to put both Rae and Simon out of her mind. She thought of the book in her dormitory that was still waiting to be returned to Derek. _Experimental Potions-Making: Taking the First Steps towards Treating the Currently Untreatable._ She had a better understanding of why Derek might have a use for such a book now. And she knew that she could get the answers she needed under the guise of returning it. She sucked in a deep breath and got to her feet, making her way up the staircase with new determination.


	6. Chapter Six

Tori watched from the shadows as Simon Bae strode away from the Entrance Hall in the direction of the Hufflepuff Common Room. To Tori's surprise she noticed that the girl, Chloe Saunders – Simon's most recent conquest no doubt – was watching him leave with wariness rather than the longing Tori was so used to seeing. She watched as Chloe waited until Simon was out of sight and then sank onto the bottom steps of the grand staircase and put her head in her hands.

Tori frowned. What was Chloe doing? Why did she look so miserable? A thought occurred to her – perhaps she was thinking of telling Simon her secret. The secret that had drawn Davidoff's attention to her. Perhaps she didn't know Simon and his brother were caught up in Davidoff's net too.

Jealousy swam through Tori's veins as she watched Chloe sit up, take a deep breath and begin the long climb to Gryffindor Tower. She didn't follow – she'd overheard enough to know that Chloe would be in the library for the rest of the day. That wasn't worth reporting back to her mother and Tori didn't want to waste any more time on Chloe Saunders and her friends.

She slinked out from her hiding spot in the shadows, considering spending the rest of the day by the lake with Liz.

* * *

"Alright," Chloe hissed, slamming the heavy leather-bound book down on Derek's table so hard that dust flew in every direction and a loud _crack_ accompanied the book's impact with the wooden desk, startling students sitting at the surrounding tables who all turned in their seats to stare. "You wanted to talk? Let's talk."

"No," said Derek without looking up. The surly Ravenclaw boy hadn't so much as flinched when the book made impact. Chloe froze in the act of sliding into the chair opposite Derek. She leaned forward, both palms outstretched on the table in front of him.

"What?" she asked incredulously, lowering her voice as she grew conscious of the stares of their fellow students. "Last night you practically harassed me for information about Davidoff. Now I want to talk and you're not interested?"

Derek grunted what was probably a word of assent.

Chloe slumped into the chair and folded her arms across her chest. "Why?"

Derek looked up, meeting her eyes. After a moment he glanced away, looking towards their growing audience. Chloe couldn't see his expression but she'd experienced Derek's glare first-hand. This one must have been particularly menacing. All at once the five nearest students began to pack their books and rolls of parchment into their satchels, practically fleeing from their tables. Once the last terrified third-year had stumbled around the nearest bookcase and out of sight, Derek turned back to Chloe and leaned forward.

"You didn't have to do that," Chloe said before he could speak. "Deliberately intimidate people like that. It's rude."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"D-don't act like you don't know what I mean."

"I didn't force them to leave," Derek said almost childishly, leaning back and crossing his arms across his chest, adopting the same defensive pose as her.

Chloe could only shake her head in exasperation. She'd thought that coming here and speaking to the one person who seemed to know what was going on in this castle would help her, but no matter how simple it had seemed in her head, every time she ran into Derek – which seemed to be happening too often recently – her rational thought flew out of the window. Words had escaped her when she'd helped him fend off Peeves, and again, when she'd literally stumbled into him outside Davidoff's office. Yesterday he'd confused and angered her. Now, he was acting petulant and stubborn, causing her to react in the same way. And she'd planned on talking to him calmly and maturely. She took a deep breath and tried again.

"All right," she said. "Let's say I believe you."

Derek's head tilted to one side, betraying his interest. But he said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

"I have some questions," she said, trying to sound firm and authoritative. "And I'm not going to trust you until I've got some answers."

"I don't care whether or not you trust me," Derek said. "I wanted to speak with you yesterday because I thought you might know something about Davidoff that could be of use to me. But it's clear to me now that you don't know anything. I've warned you about him; I don't owe you anything more."

Chloe stared. "You're bluffing," she said. Her heart pounded in her ribcage. She knew she had to choose her next words very carefully if she wanted Derek to see her as an ally. "Even if I don't know what Davidoff's planning, I still have information that can be of use to you. D-don't you want to know what I am? What I c-can do?"

"So you do know what you are," Derek said quickly. A gleam of triumph flashed through those green eyes of his.

"Of c-course I do."

"Does Davidoff know?"

Chloe paused. Davidoff had given her the potion that had affected her vision. She had to assume that he knew what the effects would be. She nodded. "But I don't think that he knows that I know," she said. "Otherwise, why would he have kept his true intentions a secret from me?"

Derek let out a deep breath and then leaned forward again, a gleam in his eye. "I've been looking up hereditary magical abilities and disorders," he said in a rush as if he'd been dying to share this information with somebody but hadn't decided until now whether or not she was trustworthy enough to hear it.

At Chloe's look of confusion he made a noise of impatience and continued. "You know, like Metamorphmagi? Witches and wizards born with the ability to change their appearance at will?"

Chloe nodded. She'd never heard the word 'Metamorphmagi' before, but she remembered seeing a photograph in the _Daily Prophet_ of an Auror whose hair colour had changed from dark violet to shockingly bright pink even as she read.

"It's a rare genetic ability that can be passed on through magical lineage. Like my… condition," he said, lowering his voice on the last two words. He glanced away, eying the librarian who bustled around the corner, stacked a few books on one of the lower shelves and then disappeared into the stacks again. Derek looked sideways at Chloe through a curtain of dark hair. "And I'm guessing your condition is too."

Chloe bit her lip, but she knew that if she wanted to get some answers, she couldn't lie to Derek. Slowly, she nodded.

He opened his mouth to continue speaking, but his gaze fell upon the book on the table and frowned. "I thought I'd lost this."

"You left it in the corridor after that incident with Peeves," Chloe explained. "I meant to return it to you earlier, but…" She trailed off, not wanting to admit that he intimidated her.

He nodded and then looked thoughtfully at her. "The incident with Peeves," he said. "Is that why Davidoff's interested in you?"

Chloe's throat dried up, but she forced herself to respond calmly. "T-that's part of it."

Derek looked curiously at her for a moment longer. She noticed that his usual scowl wasn't quite so prominent when he was deep in thought. He still didn't look conventionally handsome, like his brother, but there was something captivating about him nonetheless. It was a few seconds before she found the will to look away.

He stood, shoving the book into his own bag as if it didn't weigh more than a feather. He didn't thank her. The thought probably didn't even occur to him.

"C'mon," he said, pulling his robes from where he'd folded them carefully over the back of his chair. It was a Saturday so most students were wearing muggle clothes, but Derek tugged his Ravenclaw robe on over the baggy black hoodie he was wearing. Chloe briefly wondered why all his clothes seemed to be cheap and loose-fitting, while his brother always looked immaculate.

He strode away and Chloe jumped from her seat. He didn't wait for her and she had to run to catch up before he disappeared through the library doors.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Can't talk properly in there," Derek muttered. "We need to find someplace private."

Chloe ducked her head so he wouldn't see her blush. It wasn't that she _liked_ Derek. Not in that way – or any way at all, really. But had anyone been passing them in that moment... she knew they would have taken Derek's need for privacy to mean something very different indeed.

He led her up a staircase, through a doorway hidden behind a tapestry and then up another staircase with a trick step that he warned her gruffly to watch out for.

"Where are we going?" Chloe asked again.

"Prefects' Bathroom," Derek explained in a low whisper. "It's off-limits to most students and no one'll be using it at this time of day."

"But how would you know where to – ah," Chloe said in realisation. "Simon. Must be handy, having a Prefect for a brother."

Derek's lips thinned, as if he was smiling, but he turned away quickly before she could know for sure. "Yeah. Simon's always saying that I abuse his privileges more than he does."

He led them up another staircase as Chloe found the courage to ask the one question she'd been dying to ask him for days.

"You said Davidoff's not to be trusted," she said, rushing over the words. "But he's promised you something. A cure." Her mind flicked back to the book she'd now returned. "A cure for the incurable. Like my condition and yours. But if he's not to be trusted, why were you carrying that book around?"

"I don't trust his motives," Derek explained shortly. "But that doesn't mean everything he says is a lie. His treatments are a mixture of experimental magic and muggle science. I've been researching his methods."

"And?"

Derek shrugged. "And nothing. There's nothing to tell. Not yet, anyway."

 _Not yet?_ She wondered what that meant, but before she could ask him to elaborate, they turned another corner and came to a statue of a confused-looking wizard fiddling with his gloves. Derek had just moved to grasp the handle of one of the doors on the right close to the statue, when all at once, a voice as loud as thunder stopped them in their tracks.

 _STUDENTS OF HOGWARTS –,_ the voice began.

Chloe jumped and gripped Derek's arm as the voice echoed down the corridor, seeming to come from every direction at once.

– _THIS IS AN EMERGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT. WILL ALL STUDENTS PLEASE MAKE THEIR WAY IMMEDIATELY TO THE GREAT HALL IN A CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION. PREFECTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT ALL STUDENTS OF THEIR HOUSE ARE PRESENT AND HAVE REPORTED THEIR ATTENDANCE TO THE HEAD OF THEIR HOUSE. ALL OTHER STAFF PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE ENTRANCE HALL. THANK YOU._

The voice faded as quickly as it had come. Chloe and Derek stared at each other.

"W-we should move," Chloe said. "Gryffindor Tower isn't far from here; this corridor will be crowded soon. What do you think this means? Is it something to do with Davidoff?"

Derek was frowning. He shook his head, slowly. She took that to mean that he didn't know. Which frightened her.

"I should find Simon," he said. "Meet me back here as soon as we're allowed out of the Hall, okay?"

Chloe nodded. He paused for a moment, staring down at her hand, still wrapped around his arm. She blushed and let go with a stuttered apology. Derek looked down at her as if he wanted to say something more, but the first wave of students had appeared at the end of the hall and with one last nod he was gone. She made her way in the same direction, struggling against the crowd as more and more students joined the throng to the Great Hall.

"Chloe!" She turned to see Maya, a friendly Gryffindor girl from the year above, with whom she'd always been on good terms. Maya tossed her long dark hair back over her shoulder as she caught up to Chloe. "Do you know what's going on?" she asked. "I keep hearing all kinds of rumours – "

"It's Liz Delaney!" a boy said beside them. Chloe peered over Maya's shoulder to see Daniel Bianchi, one of Maya's closest friends. He leaned in, looking worried. "Tori was the first to notice she was missing. I heard her talking to Professor Danvers. The whole school's on lockdown while they search for her. Nobody's seen her since last night. She's gone. Vanished!"

"Liz?" Maya paled. "You're right… I haven't seen her all day…"

Chloe said nothing, but her stomach dropped. She hadn't seen Liz either, though she usually always saw Liz at the lakeside with a group of friends on Saturday mornings. How could she have missed Liz's absence?

Chloe moved towards the Gryffindor table as they entered the Great Hall, her eyes scanning the room. It didn't take her long to find who she was looking for in the crowd. Derek was standing off to the side, in deep conversation with Professor Bae – his adoptive father, Chloe remembered. As if sensing her arrival, Derek turned his head as she entered, locking eyes with her. She nodded and offered him a half-smile. She looked away as Beth called her name, but even as she manoeuvred her way around the crowd, she could still feel Derek's eyes follow her every movement across the hall.

She needed to speak with him again. Soon.


	7. Chapter Seven

Over twelve hours later, the entire student body was still under constant supervision in the Great Hall. Overnight, the long student tables had been pushed to one side to make room for the students to sleep. Professors Danvers and Michaels summoned hundreds of sleeping bags into the Great Hall and enchanted each and every one of them to feel as comfortable as the four-poster beds in the house Common Rooms. Students from different houses mingled, excited to be together for the night. If it weren't for Liz's disappearance hanging over them, the night might have felt like a giant sleepover. As it was, everyone in the school adored Liz, and so the mood quickly mellowed when night fell and there was still no trace of the bubbly, universally-loved Hufflepuff girl.

The following morning, Chloe woke up to find Professor Vegas kneeling over her with a bowl of steaming porridge.

"Sorry, dear, did I wake you?" she asked kindly. Professor Vegas flipped her long red hair over one shoulder and settled the porridge bowl on the stone floor beside Chloe's leg. "Breakfast is served. There's not much choice, I'm afraid. Moving the tables disrupted the enchantment tying the Hall to the kitchens. But I sensed you'd be happy with a bowl of porridge. I added a sprinkle of cinnamon, just the way you like it." She tapped her forehead with a mischievous grin. No matter what the other students said about the Divination teacher and her unorthodox teaching practices, Chloe had always felt that Professor Vegas, although much older than her, was something of a kindred spirit. Though Chloe knew from the professor's sly grin that she'd sensed Chloe's preference for cinnamon through keen observation rather than her supposed psychic abilities, Professor Vegas undoubtedly _did_ have an inner eye. She saw things that not everybody in the school saw, things that Chloe believed to be real.

"Professor?" Chloe found herself asking as Professor Vegas turned to leave. "You don't happen to know anything more about what's going on, do you? I mean… about Liz. Have you sensed anything _different_ recently?"

Professor Vegas frowned. "You know divination doesn't work that way, dear. I wish it did. But…" She hesitated, as if choosing her words carefully. "Professor Adams might have mentioned something," she confided in a hushed whisper. Professor Adams was the young, beautiful new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. She'd been hired precisely for her ability to detect Dark Magic and teach students to recognise the signs. "There's an aura of secrecy spreading throughout the castle. And if Hope – I mean, if Professor Adams has sensed it, it's not a good secret. If she's right, things haven't been right for some time now." Professor Vegas shook her head and smiled. "But I don't know why I'm telling you all of this. You're an excellent Divination student, so you must realise better than anybody else your age how pointless it is to dwell on such things. The future is hazy – there are a thousand different outcomes and no matter what myself or Professor Adams might sense now, it has no bearing on the future. Besides, this has nothing to do with Liz. Nothing to fret over. I'm sure we'll find her soon."

Chloe nodded. Professor Vegas squeezed her shoulder reassuringly as she stood, but behind her smile her eyes conveyed her worry. Even the teachers were scared.

Chloe thanked Professor Vegas as she left, wishing she had a mirror as she sat up and snagged her fingers through the blonde and red streaks of her hair. She'd accidentally dyed it during one charms lesson when she was supposed to be changing the colour of an apricot on her desk. Everybody had complimented her on the accidental charm, so she'd left it. Now though, she had a terrible case of bed head. Although looking around the hall, she saw she wasn't the only one.

She'd just finished her bowl of porridge when she caught sight of Rae. She'd almost forgotten yesterday's fight but now it rose back to the forefront of her mind. Although she knew she hadn't been in the wrong, Chloe felt the urge to walk up to her and apologise. She hated being on bad terms with anybody and Rae was her best friend. What if Rae had gone missing, rather than Liz? What if that argument had been the last words spoken between them?

She stood; brushing her fingers once more over her hair in an attempt to flatten it she began to make her way across the hall to Rae. More people were awake now and she had to curve her way around groups of students to reach her. She lost sight of Rae for a while and when she next looked forward, something stopped her cold in her tracks. Rae wasn't alone.

Beside her, smiling genially at whatever Rae was saying stood Professor Davidoff.

Chloe gaped. For some reason, this felt more like a betrayal than any of the horrible words Rae had spoken yesterday. As Davidoff turned to leave, he caught sight of Chloe and tipped his pointed wizard's hat towards her. She shivered. Rae noticed her, then. Her smile faded, but she walked the remaining distance between them.

"Hi," she said frostily.

"Hi," Chloe managed. Now that they were face-to-face, she couldn't remember why she'd wanted to apologise to Rae. Surely Rae should be apologising to her!

She'd always thought that Rae had been chosen for Gryffindor because she was unafraid to voice her opinions and didn't care what people like Tori thought of her. But now Chloe saw that there was bravery too in betrayal. No coward would have the guts to look her best friend in the eye just moments after conversing with the one person she'd been warned to stay away from.

Chloe opened her mouth to speak – she had no idea what she planned to say. But at that moment, Rae's eyes widened as a shadow fell over them both. "Um… Chlo –"

"Chloe," said a deep voice behind her. She jumped and span on her heel to see Derek Souza looming over her. His mouth twitched.

"Skittish as a kneazle," he said in amusement.

Chloe snorted. "With everything that's happened in the last few days, can you blame me?"

Derek's barely-there smile faded. He gestured for her to follow him to a corner of the hall currently unoccupied. She nodded and then turned back to Rae as he disappeared back into the crowd. "Sorry, I really should go talk to him. Be back in a few minutes."

Rae was gaping at her. "Chloe," she hissed. "That was Derek Souza. What does a guy like Derek Souza want from you?"

Chloe was about to spin an excuse, but unfortunately, Beth, Kari and Miranda chose this moment to join their conversation.

"Derek Souza?" Miranda tittered. "What's this about our dear innocent Chloe and Derek Souza?"

Chloe blushed from the roots of her hair to her chest. "It's n-nothing. We're f-friends – "

"Ew," said Beth. "Chloe, is that why you were asking about him last week? Are you… d'you _like_ Derek Souza?"

Chloe's eyes widened as she attempted to splutter a response. Kari snorted. "Of course she doesn't. She's just leading him on because she likes his brother. Simon Bae. Haven't you noticed how she's been trailing after him for weeks now?"

Chloe gaped, speechless. She'd never thought that Kari could be so cruel. How could her friend think so little of her? How could something as simple as a guy noticing her fuel such animosity between them?

Rae said nothing. Chloe didn't know why, but that hurt most of all. Even after their recent fight, with all the awkwardness between them now, she still expected her best friend to stick up for her. But now that the shock of seeing her with Derek had passed, Rae wouldn't even look her in the eye.

Chloe lifted her chin and straightened. "We're just friends," she said again. "I need to go see what he wants. I'll be right back."

She ducked into the crowd before they could respond, making her way past a group of Slytherin boys. When she looked back over her shoulder, she could see Beth, Kari and Miranda gossiping at full speed, their heads bent towards each other.

They were talking about her. Maliciously. Behind her back.

Tears welled in her eyes. It was bad enough that they'd teased her to her face. She could deal with that – she'd expected it to some degree after the last time she'd brought Derek up in conversation. But the idea that they were talking about her now – or that they'd talked about her behind her back before – hurt her more than she'd expected it to. None of them had visited her in the hospital wing yesterday. She could imagine them discussing her nervous breakdown in hushed whispers. Shame evolved into anger as she turned away from them and strode towards where Derek stood waiting.

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately when she drew near. "Has Davidoff –"

Chloe shook her head and swiped at the tears in her eyes. "It's nothing to do with Davidoff. It's just… my friends… they think we're…" She trailed off, still embarrassed even through her anger.

Derek's frown didn't change. Of course. Why should he care? He didn't have any friends. Rumours followed him everywhere he went. He probably thought it was stupid to cry over something someone had said behind her back.

"W-what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked, pulling herself together.

Derek scratched at his arm, eyes darting in every direction before he spoke. _And he says_ I'm _the skittish one_ , Chloe thought as she watched him.

"It doesn't look like we'll be let out of here anytime soon," he said in a quiet rumble, so quiet that Chloe had to lean closer to hear him. "I spoke to my dad. In times of heightened security, it's standard procedure to lock us all in the hall until the Headmaster declares the school safe. Most of the teachers are still refusing to believe that Liz is gone and until Professor St. Cloud returns to the school, we can't leave. It could be days before that happens."

Chloe bit her lip. "You mean… you believe that Liz is g-gone?"

Derek shrugged, still scratching absently at his arm.

Chloe scrutinised him carefully. His cheeks were flushed but beneath the bright spots of colour he was ghostly pale. His too-long dark hair clung to his forehead with a faint sheen of sweat. She frowned.

"You're sick," she said. Without pausing to think her actions through, she reached up and touched his forehead with the back of her hand. He flinched, eyes widening in surprise – almost as though he was unused to simple human contact, she thought with a pang of sympathy. But he didn't draw back.

"I'm fine," said Derek as she frowned up at him. "Really. It's just a 24-hour thing. It'll be gone tomorrow."

"You should see Madam Levine," Chloe insisted. "At least get a temperature-lowering potion. You've got a fever."

"I'm fine," Derek said again. It sounded as though he was biting back a snarl. Chloe decided to let the matter drop, but made a mental note to speak to Madam Levine about Derek's fever when she next saw the nurse.

"So, since we're not leaving this hall anytime soon," Chloe said, steering the conversation back to safer ground, "maybe we can continue our conversation from yesterday here." She looked up at him expectantly.

Derek pulled his sleeve down and nodded. "Right." He sat down on the cold stone floor and Chloe did the same. "What do you want to know?" he asked.

Chloe raised her eyebrows. She hadn't thought Derek would be so open with her. Perhaps he really did trust her now. Perhaps he was just tired of keeping so many secrets from the rest of the school.

"Everything," she said honestly, but when the corner of his mouth twitched in another almost-smile she added, "Let's start with what Davidoff himself is up to. Why is he collecting students with hereditary abilities like ours? What does he want? Why is he trying to cure our… powers?"

Derek's brow furrowed at the word _powers_ , like he didn't think it applied to him. But he raked a handful of black hair back from his forehead and spoke in a low voice, so as not to draw too much attention from the bleary-eyed students around them.

"Davidoff's a half-blood," Derek began. "His father was a wizard. A Healer. His mother was a skilled physician. I think Davidoff's attempting to combine muggle science and magic to create a new kind of Healing. And he's using students with abilities or conditions that supposedly can't be cured as test subjects."

Chloe gaped. "Is that even possible?"

Derek shrugged. "I've been researching. Davidoff knows what he's doing. Is it possible? Maybe. Is it legal? Definitely not. Davidoff's not a licensed Healer. And the muggle and magical worlds aren't supposed to mix."

"Which is why Davidoff's working in secret, testing his potions on students," Chloe realised. "Because he can't present his experiments legally. And if something were to go wrong… well, we're still learning magic. Accidents happen all the time in Hogwarts. If we told anyone that it was Davidoff's fault, the teachers would all just think we were too embarrassed to tell the truth."

Derek nodded. He looked surprised that Chloe had caught on so quickly.

"Who else is Davidoff meeting in secret?" Chloe asked him now. "That night in the Hospital Wing, you told me there were others. Who are they?" Rae flashed into her mind, but she dismissed the thought. She didn't want to think that Rae might have been lying to her for weeks now. Then again, hadn't she been lying to Rae for years too? Maybe they were both to blame for their current fallout.

Derek shrugged his shoulders again. "Don't know. Davidoff hinted that there were more but you're the first I've found." His eyes darted across the hall again. "They could be anybody."

Chloe gulped, her eyes flitting over the sea of faces too. All at once she felt exposed and drew her wand from her pocket, casting a quick silencing charm over their corner of the hall.

"D'you think Liz could've been one of Davidoff's subjects?" she asked when she turned back to Derek.

He hesitated, but said quietly, "Yeah. Looks that way, doesn't it?"

Chloe's heart thudded in her chest. She wasn't paranoid, then. Derek shared her suspicions. She didn't know whether to feel better or worse about that. Her mind was reeling with all the new information she'd been given.

Derek started rummaging around in his bag and, with another glance at the students around them, pulled out an old leather-bound volume. He held it out to Chloe.

"Um… thanks?" Chloe said, taking the book warily.

Derek rolled his eyes. "I spoke to my dad yesterday. Got him to take this from the library while he and the other teachers were searching for Liz. Something you said about your condition…," he paused and rubbed the back of his neck, stalling. "Well, I figured out why Davidoff's so interested in you from what you said about Peeves, but I got the sense that you didn't know much about your abilities, so…" He shrugged again, cheeks reddening slightly. Chloe stared. Was Derek Souza… _blushing_?

She was stunned by his thoughtfulness, but as she glanced down at the book she felt her blood run cold. Her fingers traced the title: _Necromancy_.

"Derek –," she began but at that moment somebody tapped her on the shoulder and she let out a squeal, jumping as she turned to see a very confused Simon looking down at her.

"Hey," he said. His eyes flicked uncertainly between Chloe and his brother, as if he was trying to work out why on earth they were talking to each other.

Chloe opened her mouth to reply but Derek mumbled, "The spell," under his breath. Of course. Simon wouldn't be able to hear a word they were saying. Hastily, she withdrew her wand again and muttered the counter-spell, aware of Simon's eyes watching in confusion.

"Hi, Simon," she said breathlessly as she tucked her wand away again. "I was… we… your brother and I were just…"

"Huddled away in a dark corner of the hall, whispering about an old book under the cover of a silencing charm," Simon finished for her. Chloe felt herself blush, but Simon attempted a smile as he sat down beside her. "If I didn't know any better, I'd be jealous. Isn't this the second private conversation in less than a week? I didn't know you two knew each other so well. What's going on?"

Derek had said nothing since reminding Chloe about the silencing charm, but now he spoke. "It's okay," he said gruffly. He looked Chloe straight in the eye. "He knows."

Simon's attempt at a light-hearted grin wavered. "Uh… I know what?"

Derek closed his eyes and let out a small sigh that said he really hadn't been looking forward to this conversation. "You know… what I am. And what Professor Davidoff is up to."

Chloe gaped. All this time she'd thought Derek was the only one she could speak to about this and Simon, a boy she'd thought she knew well and whose company she enjoyed, knew too? _And Derek hadn't told her?_

Simon seemed to be having just as much trouble coming to terms with this revelation. He leaned slightly away from Chloe, openly gaping.

"You…" he said, and then he turned to Derek. "She's the one? The girl you said you caught Davidoff speaking to? And you didn't tell me?"

Derek looked away, like he didn't want to meet his brother's eyes. The look on his face… it was the most emotion Chloe had ever seen from him. She'd judged him wrong. No matter what people said about Derek Souza, he really did care for his brother, she realised. Derek Souza was far from heartless.

"I didn't know for sure," said Derek quietly. "And then I didn't want to tell you because I knew it would get you even more caught up in this. Davidoff's not interested in you. If he were to walk back into this hall right now and see the three of us talking you'd only be drawing attention to yourself."

"You think I care?" Simon snorted. "Bro, _you're_ the one in danger." His eyes flickered back to Chloe. He didn't look quite so wary of her now. "And you too, I guess."

Chloe nodded. "Sorry. I couldn't tell you."

Simon reached out and took her hand. "It's okay. I know what it's like to keep secrets from friends. I've got Derek as a brother, after all."

Chloe nodded, but couldn't speak. A boy was holding her hand. _Holding her hand!_ She just hoped her hand wouldn't go clammy, but surprisingly she didn't feel butterflies and her heart continued to beat steadily.

"What's the book?" Simon asked, nodding his head towards it.

"Uh… it's nothing," Chloe muttered, shoving it hastily into her satchel. She didn't want Simon to know what she was just yet. _Necromancy_ … whatever that encompassed, it didn't sound good. She glanced towards Derek, but he was looking at her hand in Simon's. She looked away.

"So this is what you were discussing in the Hospital Wing on Thursday?" Simon asked.

Derek nodded. "I've just been filling Chloe in."

"Oh!" Simon's eyes widened. "About tonight? How're you going to – "

" _Simon."_ Chloe jumped. Derek's voice was a low warning growl. He shook his head vehemently.

Simon looked embarrassed. "Sorry." He glanced sideways at Chloe. "He hasn't filled you in on _everything_ , then?"

Chloe shook her head slowly, watching both brothers. "What's happening tonight?"

"Nothing," Derek said so emphatically that Chloe stared. He ducked his head and said gruffly, "I've spoken to Dad. Told him everything." He looked up, speaking only to Simon. "It's fine. Dad'll help me leave tonight and he's looking for proof to vindicate Davidoff while the rest of the school is searched."

Simon looked relieved. "Good. I'm so tired of keeping this from Dad."

Chloe tore her hand from Simon's and crossed her arms over her chest. "So, neither of you are going to explain to me what's happening tonight?"

The brothers looked at each other. Simon reached for Chloe's shoulder. "It's nothing, really –"

Chloe pulled away from Simon, getting to her feet. "No. Something's happening tonight and if it involves Davidoff, it involves me." She looked at Derek. "I thought you'd decided to trust me."

The boys had both gotten to their feet now, too. A few other students were looking their way with curious expressions.

"'Course I do," Derek said, and Chloe felt a jolt of surprise. She hadn't been at all sure that Derek did trust her but he said it as though it was obvious that he did. "But this doesn't involve Davidoff," he continued, "and it doesn't involve you."

Chloe's eyes narrowed. "You're lying."

"I'm not."

The intensity of Derek's gaze melted Chloe's annoyance. Whatever it was that he was keeping from her, he clearly meant it. He didn't think it concerned her. But he'd spoken about leaving. It involved _him_. She wanted to help.

"Derek –" Chloe began, reaching out to touch his arm. But he stepped back and grabbed her wrist before she could make contact. She gasped. Derek's grip was frighteningly strong. _Too strong._ She tugged her arm away as he mumbled something that might have been an apology.

"Woah." Simon, whose eyes had been flicking back and forth between Chloe and Derek for the last minute, chose this moment to step in. He yanked his brother back by his robes. "Chloe, it's not his fault," he explained in a rush. "Guys like Derek… he doesn't know his own strength… he just –"

"Simon, stop," Derek said. He was looking at the floor, hands in his pockets.

Chloe's wrist was burning. She looked down and saw a faint red mark already rising to the surface. Derek had only grabbed her for a second but it was still enough to leave a bruise.

"I- I have to go," she mumbled. "Th-thanks for the book." Simon started to protest, but Derek held him back. He looked up at the same moment that she glanced towards him one last time. His eyes seemed apologetic, but Chloe wasn't sure that she could spend another second with him, knowing that just one moment ago he'd been close to breaking her wrist with a single touch.

She fled back to the safety of the Gryffindor side of the room, clutching her arm. Her whole body was trembling.

Derek was an intimidating student. Everyone steered clear of him. But even when he'd stood over her bed and threatened her in the Hospital Wing, she'd never truly been scared of him. Not until now.

 _I have to find out what he is,_ she realised. _I have to know what else he's keeping from me._ _As soon as possible._

She stole one last glance in Simon and Derek's direction as she made up her mind.

_I'm following him tonight._


	8. Chapter Eight

Rae Rogers waited until nightfall to unravel the tightly-rolled sheet of parchment Professor Davidoff had tucked into the sleeve of her robes as they spoke earlier that day.

It wasn't the first time her favourite professor had slipped her a note from someone dear to both of them, always with a friendly wink and a secretive smile that seemed to say, _Yes. It's from her again._ But she was surprised that he'd had the daring to do so in a hall so crowded with on-looking students. He was usually adamant that they could tell no one about the letters he passed her way every other week.

A smile spread across her cheeks as her eyes roamed greedily across the paper, soaking up her correspondent's familiar slanted words. How she'd longed for this all her life. She hadn't believed Professor Davidoff so many months ago, when he'd called her down to his office and first presented her with a letter from a woman he'd claimed was her birth mother. Even after she'd read Jocinda's words, she hadn't believed it. The letter had given her everything she'd ever wanted and more. A loving birth mother who'd been searching for her daughter since the day she was snatched away and placed in the muggle foster system. A family who cared for her, waiting for the right time to snatch her away from the shadows and into the light. And more, so much more. An inherited gift. Acknowledgement of her strange obsession with fire and proof beyond measure that Rae was no ordinary witch. She was _special_.

Now, of course, Rae believed. Jocinda – her mother – knew things about her that no one else could possibly know. She knew about Rae's obsession with fire and her natural ability to perform fire-based charms, explaining the pull that Rae's father had felt to the flames. Rae had never revealed the extent of her obsession to anyone. Slowly but surely, Jocinda had gained her trust completely.

And soon, mother and daughter would be reunited at last. Rae was sure of it.

* * *

Tucked away in the opposite corner of the Great Hall, Chloe Saunders quietly closed the ancient book of Necromancy that Derek had given her and pulled her Gryffindor robes tighter around her shoulders, shuddering to herself.

 _Power over the dead._ She'd always known of her ability, of course, but somehow, reading the details of her family "gift" as dictated by ancient practitioners of dark magic made her tremble. She wasn't sure where Derek's father had gotten this book from but she knew for a fact that it didn't belong in the main section of the library – she wasn't even sure that the restricted section should stack it.

 _I'm cursed,_ she thought, wrapping her arms around her legs and pulling tightly, as though hoping she could fold in on herself entirely. _I've been practising dark magic since the day I was born. I'm the very thing we're taught to protect ourselves against in Defence Against the Dark Arts. I shouldn't be here… I don't belong…_

She wondered briefly if this had been Derek's plan when he gave her the book. To frighten her. Scare p-poor, st-stuttering Chloe Saunders so badly that she'd never breathe a word of his or Davidoff's plans to any of her mouthy, back-stabbing Gryffindor friends. But she instantly dismissed the idea. Derek wasn't exactly the sociable, easy-going guy his brother was, but she knew that he was fiercely loyal. Though they'd only befriended each other this past week, she sensed that he wouldn't betray her trust. Not to anyone.

She would never betray him either, she realised. Despite the bruises he'd left on her arm; despite her plans to find out exactly what dreadful, monstrous ability Derek had been hiding from her – and she was still adamant in her plan to follow him tonight – Chloe wasn't planning on telling a soul.

She cast a glance towards the Ravenclaw side of the hall once more, straining her eyes for a glimpse of Derek. Nobody stirred.

 _What now?_ She thought anxiously. After what she'd just read… she wanted more than anything to confide in someone. Anybody would do. But no one knew of her secret and none of her friends seemed to be suitable confidants after everything that had happened. Chloe didn't think she'd ever fully trust Beth, Kari or Miranda with a secret ever again. And Rae… well, she wasn't at all sure where her friendship with Rae stood right now.

Chloe knew who she wanted to talk to. Simon. Before, she hadn't even considered confiding in the popular Hufflepuff Chaser, but now that her involvement in Davidoff's experiments had been revealed, she knew that she could trust him almost as implicitly as she trusted his brother. And she _did_ trust Derek. His inhuman strength had shaken her to her core but she still remembered the apologetic look in his eyes as she fled. Now, given everything that she'd read in the last few hours about her own horrific powers, Derek's lapse in self-control seemed like nothing. They were both monsters but Chloe was sure that he fought against his dark powers as much as she did. And almost without her realising it was happening, Derek had become the one person in the entire school that that she knew she could speak to honestly. The only thing stopping her from running to his side right that moment was the awkwardness that always seemed to hang in the air between them. Derek wasn't renowned for his social skills. Though she knew that he would listen and offer his honest opinion, Chloe wasn't sure that his advice would be comforting. And she doubted he'd want to listen to her problems, especially since he had plenty of his own. No, Simon was the brother to talk to. She wanted a comforting lie, not harsh truths.

She checked her watch. Almost midnight. Perhaps she could also convince Simon to tell her what time Derek was planning to leave the hall…

Her mind made up, Chloe tucked the Necromancy book underneath her sleeping bag and squinted through the sea of sleeping faces, searching for Simon or one of his many friends. Most students were asleep, but a few were still awake, whispering amongst themselves. The mood of the student body had worsened during their second day of confinement to the Great Hall with no sign of Liz anywhere in the castle or the surrounding grounds. Many students were asleep but tossing and turning restlessly. Teachers paced back and forth, keeping watch. Chloe knew it would be impossible to stand up and search for Simon without drawing attention to herself.

Unless… Chloe grinned in the dark, an idea forming. Hastily, she pulled her wand from a pocket in her dressing gown and tapped her head, whispering an incantation under her breath. At once, a cool trickling sensation spread down and through her body. Blinking, she looked down and experienced the strange sensation of seeing _through_ her body to the floor below.

"Yes!" she whispered, overjoyed by her success. She'd never cast a disillusionment charm on herself before. Standing up, she tip-toed through the hall, careful not to draw attention to herself though she was sure that if any teacher did notice her now they'd simply mistake her for a passing ghost.

A shiver ran through her. Now _she_ was the ghost.

Chloe spotted Simon almost instantly, asleep beside a group of fellow Hufflepuff boys at the base of the head table where the professors usually sat. But as she made her way over to him, something caught her eye and stopped her in her tracks. She looked up, through the arched windows behind the head table which overlooked the school grounds. Again, she saw a flicker of movement. Instantly, she thought of Liz.

Pressing her palms to the cool glass, what she saw made her gasp out in surprise.

" _Derek?_ " she breathed.

There was no mistaking that dark figure. Derek Souza was walking at a hurried pace across the grounds, heading for what seemed to be the Whomping Willow; the ancient, gnarled tree tossed its dark branches threateningly in his direction but it didn't seem to deter him. She squinted and focused her attention on Derek again. Something wasn't right. Over the last few days she'd noted that despite his bulk Derek could move as lithely and quietly as Mrs. Norris when he wanted to slip by unnoticed. But at this moment in time he was… limping.

Their altercation from earlier in the afternoon flitted into her mind and she rubbed the bruises on her arm, recalling the intensity of his gaze and the deftness with which he'd moved as he blocked her hand from reaching out to him in comfort. How could anything hurt a guy as strong and powerful as Derek? And yet, he was clearly injured.

Had part of his plan gone wrong? She cursed herself for not noticing him leave the hall. She'd been keeping one eye on his corner of the hall all night and hadn't seen a single movement but he'd obviously evaded her. And now he was all alone, hurt, maybe even unable to sneak back into the hall unnoticed…

Her mind was made up in less than a second. Sneaking along the wall where the shadows were darkest, she waited until none of the teachers' eyes were trained on the main doors and made her move. Opening the door without alerting any teachers was difficult – the wood was heavy and creaked ever-so-slightly as she slid it open just wide enough for her to slide through. But luckily the door didn't seem to be charmed in any way. Chloe was surprised by that. Surely the door should be magically locked or at least enchanted with a detection spell?

Derek's words from earlier came back to her: _Dad'll help me leave tonight_. Simon and Derek's dad was a Hogwarts professor. He was sure to know all the security used to protect the hall… and how to remove it. This must be how Professor Bae had helped Derek escape undetected. Still, the lack of supervision tonight made her uneasy. Hogwarts was supposed to be a safe haven. But the danger was inside the walls and she hadn't felt safe in the castle for a while now.

Briefly, she thought of sneaking back in and waking Simon. He'd want to help his brother and two minds would be better than one. But Derek was out there, hurt and alone. She didn't want to waste another second.

Ghosts swarmed around her as she ran down the castle steps – clearly the potion Professor Davidoff had given her was making its way out of her system. She shivered, both from the cold night wind biting at her skin through her thin nightclothes and from the thought that Professor Davidoff would likely try to speak to her – and experiment with her power – again, soon.

The moon was full and bright, casting a ghostly white light upon the castle and its grounds. For a moment, Chloe could only gaze at the beauty of the sloping lawns and gently rippling waters of the lake in awe. And then movement flickered across her vision again. Derek had made it to the Whomping Willow. And it was attacking him.

"Derek!" she shouted as loudly as she could. "Derek! Stop!"

He glanced back, surprise flitting across his face, but he didn't seem to see her. As she ran towards him, the willow raked a thin whip-like branch across his forehead and he staggered back, dripping blood. Another, thicker branch slammed into his back, knocking him off his feet. He fell with his arms outstretched towards the tree and pulled himself up using a knot in the trunk which protruded sharply outwards.

Instantly, the tree stilled. Chloe, who had nearly halved the distance between them, stilled too. Shock prevented her from racing forwards or crying out again. In all her time at Hogwarts, she'd never seen the Whomping Willow so still. She'd never known it was possible to get so close to the tree and live to tell the tale.

Despite his limp and the pain Chloe could now see on his face, Derek was still moving quickly. Keeping one hand on the knot, he bent down to a small opening in the earth which had appeared when the tree stilled. As Chloe watched in disbelief, his whole body slid underneath the tree and was swallowed from sight. She gaped. How had Derek known about this place?

There was no time to puzzle over it now. The tree was moving again. She had to get to that passage and follow Derek if she wanted to know the truth about what on earth was happening tonight.

Unfortunately, the tree seemed even more riled up and bloodthirsty than usual by the time she reached the edge a few minutes later, no doubt because its prey had escaped it once already. Chloe dug her wand from the pocket of her dressing gown and tried a few spells but they seemed to have no effect. She tried swerving the nearest branch, but only succeeded in angering the tree further. The branch whipped towards her, slicing a deep gash in her cheek before she could stagger back.

Even the ghosts seemed to steer clear of the tree, she noticed as she raised her sleeve to mop up the blood from her cheek, yelping aloud as she applied pressure to the stinging wound. One of the closest ghosts looked at her curiously, but didn't speak. She wondered if these ghosts – the ghosts she saw but no one else did – _could_ even speak. What made them different from the ghosts who interacted with the students of Hogwarts on a daily basis? And then she remembered something she'd read in the book Derek had given her just a few hours ago.

_Dark magic. Dangerous. Power over the dead._

"You," she said, pointing at the ghost of a curious elderly man. "Help me. Please."

The ghost's eyes widened and Chloe was afraid that if he weren't already dead she would have given him a heart attack. He said nothing, seemingly incapable of communication.

Chloe groaned in frustration. What was it the book had said about communicating with the dead? Something about proximity to the grave site, an item belonging to the individual, a complex ritual process… all things she couldn't afford to waste time with. She needed a way into that passage, _fast_. If she couldn't do it using her powers, she thought – anxiously twisting her necklace so tight that the chain dug into her palm – then she'd just have to improvise.

But as she raised her wand again, the chain of her necklace snapped, the red pendant slipping out of her grasp and falling to the dew-covered grass at her feet. Chloe couldn't help it – she gasped. The ghostly old man suddenly appeared more substantial to her than before. In fact, so did all the other ghosts surrounding the tree. And she could feel the earth beneath her feet, sense the rot and decay lying in the depths of the forest reaching out, calling to her –

"Girl!" It was the old man. His eyes widened. "That spell don't fool me. You're one of them, ent you, girl? One of them _necromancers_."

"Yesss," hissed another ghost – a middle-aged woman with dark hair curled into an elaborate bun. "I can see your glow, my dear. Blinding, it is. However did you keep it hidden so long, 'ey?"

"I-I-I don't know wh-what you – "

More ghosts surrounded her, the din of their voices becoming unbearable. Even though Chloe knew they couldn't touch her, claustrophobia crept in. And they looked so corporal now…

"Shut up!" Chloe snapped. "Go away, go away, go away! Please!"

Silence swept over the crowd. Chloe blinked. Then, one by one, the ghosts flickered and blinked out of existence until the swaying of the tree was all she could see around her.

No ghosts. They'd listened to her. Obeyed her, just like they always did. Her mother's necklace had somehow protected her from them all these years, but they still obeyed her, even without that protection. That was comforting to know.

Chloe might have collapsed to the ground in exhaustion at that point if it weren't for the howling wind that swept through the tree's branches. For a moment, it sounded almost like a human howl.

_Derek._

She tensed, preparing to fire another spell at the tree, but a rustling sound distracted her. What she saw when she turned and squinted into the darkness made her stagger back dangerously close to the tree's swaying branches, heart thumping quicker in her chest.

The ghosts clearly weren't the only creatures that had noticed her power when the necklace broke. Because at her feet, dragging itself along by its claws was a mangled, dirty, _dead_ cat.

Chloe stared.

_Power over the dead._

Did that apply to animals, too? Only one way to find out. She bent down and pocketed her broken necklace, then clenched her fists tightly, her voice shaking as she said, "St-Stop. Please."

The cat stopped. A whine tore from its throat. It looked like it was in pain, and despite the horror of the situation, Chloe was moved with pity for the poor bedraggled creature. But a plan formed in her mind. Voice still shaking, she issued the cat one more command.

The cat howled once more, but dragged itself along the ground in obedience, not even deterred by the tree's angry branches which bent as low as possible to swipe at the stinking dead cat's matted fur. Chloe watched silently, her mind shutting down, overwhelmed by the events of the last few minutes.

 _Focus on getting into that passage and helping Derek,_ she told herself. _You can deal with the rest of this later._

The cat reached up on its broken hind legs to touch the knot and the tree froze once more. Chloe darted to the passage in the ground, trying to ignore the stench of the dead cat beside her.

"Thank you," she said. Her voice was no longer trembling. "I… erm… I release you."

The cat simply stared back at her, unblinkingly.

Chloe shut her eyes. Imagined the cat's soul released from the rotting cage of its body. She wasn't sure what to do. The book had told her that this kind of power required complex dark magic, but she had raised the cat unknowingly, simply by asking for help. She took a deep breath and tried again, imagining the cat lying down, lying still as the tree's branches…

When she opened her eyes, the cat had slumped to the base of the tree. She slid into the passage just as the tree began to move once more.

The passage slid down underground and evened out into a low tunnel. Chloe scrambled to her feet, brushing the dirt off her pyjamas and looked around.

"Lumos," she whispered. Light bloomed at the end of her wand as she began to follow the path that would lead her to Derek.

Less than five minutes later, the tunnel rose and twisted, opening out into a dark, dusty room that stank of mildew – the rotten, decaying scent of disuse. And in the middle of the room was –

"Derek!" Chloe whispered.

He was stooped on all fours, as if the condition that had caused his limp was now so bad that he couldn't even stand. He wore a pair of boxers, but he'd tossed his robes and the rest of his clothing to the side. In any other circumstances, Chloe would have blushed and turned away. But Derek was shaking and his back was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. He looked ill. Violently ill, Chloe thought in alarm as a tremor racked through his body. Derek turned at the sound of her voice, his bright green eyes squinting in the darkness.

"No," he murmured, his voice deeper and even more gravelly than usual. "Chloe? Is… is that you?"

Chloe looked down at herself. _Of course._ The disillusionment charm was still in effect. She hastily performed the counter-charm and knelt beside Derek just as his body trembled and his head sank to the rotten floorboards, dry-heaving.

"It's me," she said. She pushed back his sweat-soaked hair to feel his forehead. He was burning up. Badly.

"Ch-Chloe," he managed to say between gasps for air. "You _need_ to get out of here."

As she watched, he tensed again and to her astonishment, the bones in his jaw _shifted_. He turned his face away from her, but he couldn't hide the fur sprouting up along his arms.

Trembling, Chloe got to her feet, her mind reeling.

_Derek's inhuman strength. His sickness earlier that day. The full moon._

The pieces clicked into place and Chloe felt herself take a step back, reaching out to steady herself on a rickety old table.

" _It's a rare genetic ability that can be passed on through magical lineage,"_ Derek had said. Lycanthropy was a genetic condition, passed down through the male line. And then there were the rumours about Derek. Absurd rumours that Chloe had dismissed as soon as her friends had voiced them. But now…

"You… you're a werewolf," Chloe said, numbly. A tiny voice in the back of her head told her to move. Werewolves were dangerous. They'd studied them in their third year.

But… none of this made sense. Derek had been out in the full moon earlier. Surely he should have turned then? Instead, here he was, suffering unbearable agony underground. It seemed like his body was protesting the Change, like it shouldn't be happening here and now…

"Davidoff," Chloe realised. All this time, Derek had been warning Chloe away from Davidoff, but even though he knew exactly what their deranged professor was planning, he hadn't stopped meeting him alone, had he? He'd warned Chloe not to take any potions Davidoff gave her… but surely in order to gain Davidoff's trust he'd had to accept some potions too…

She remembered the book Derek had dropped. The gleam in his eyes when he told her that he'd been researching Davidoff's methods.

The wide-eyed terror in Derek's eyes told her everything she needed to know. Her hunch was right. Derek was good-hearted enough to want to stop Davidoff's experimentation on kids, but he'd told her himself that he was a monster. Perhaps he really did believe that. Perhaps despite everything, he still desperately hoped for a cure.

Whatever Davidoff had done to him, he hadn't stopped the Change completely. Chloe gripped her wand tightly, just in case. Then she knelt down beside him again and lay her hand on his back.

Derek tensed and rolled away from her. "Go!" he shouted. "What are you doing?"

"Davidoff," she said again. "You've been taking his potions, haven't you?"

Derek didn't answer. He gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut as another tremor ran through his body. He turned his face away from her as sweat dripped from his tensed jaw.

"You idiot," she breathed. "You hypocrite. So you can boss everyone else around to keep them safe, but it doesn't matter what happens to you? You think it's okay for Davidoff to use _you_ as a human guinea-pig, but it's too dangerous for me or anyone else to get involved?"

"Just go," Derek growled.

It occurred to her in that moment that despite his intelligence and sarcastic wit, Derek Souza was more suited to Gryffindor than any of the girls she shared a dormitory with. Brave and chivalrous. He'd risked his own safety to get more information from Davidoff. He'd threatened her to stay away from Davidoff, hoping to keep her – a stranger – out of harm's way. And he'd told no one of the burden he was bearing out here alone. Chloe doubted Simon or even Professor Bae knew that Derek's transformation tonight would not be his usual Change.

Her heart clenched uncomfortably in her chest. He was all alone. And _terrified_. All because he cared so much for his family that he refused to let them worry about him.

"I'll tell you everything," he gasped, the words muffled as though his mouth was changing shape even as he spoke. "Everything. Later. If you leave. Now."

"I can't," she said. She'd come here to help him, assuming he was in pain. How could she leave knowing that his pain had only just begun? "I'm staying. You don't know what'll happen, right? You don't know what Davidoff's done to you. You _need_ someone to stay with you."

"No," Derek gasped, his fingers curling into claws. "Dangerous. Run."

Maybe it was stupid to stay, but she couldn't leave him. Not like this. Not while he writhed in pain, clamping his teeth together with the effort not to cry out.

"Hey," she said, reaching out to him. This time, when she gingerly placed her hand on his back, he didn't flinch. "I'm a monster too, remember? Whatever happens, I can handle it."

"No."

"Watch me."

"No. You… you're not… a… monster." He looked up at her, green eyes meeting blue. Both sets wide with terror. In spite of everything, a smile – a real smile – touched the corner of his lips. Then he grimaced.

"Keep… your wand… ready," Derek managed to say before turning his face away from her, black hair falling like drapes across his cheeks once more.

And then the Change _really_ began.

The next few minutes were a blur to Chloe. She kept one hand on Derek's back, even as his muscles shifted and fur sprouted up between her fingers. She kept murmuring soft words of comfort, even as his howls of pain become more inhuman. Because she somehow instinctively knew that the pain Derek was experiencing now was far worse than any pain he'd previously experienced during the full moon.

Then, quite suddenly, the body beneath her hand stopped trembling. His breathing slowed. And the creature that lay in Derek's place was not a werewolf.

Derek had Changed, yes. But he had transformed into an actual wolf, not one of the monstrous creatures Chloe had studied in Defence Against the Dark Arts. This was the result of Professor Davidoff's experimentation. The wolf had thick, glossy black fur. It stretched and rose onto its hind legs and Chloe took a careful step back, wand at the ready.

 _Even real wolves are dangerous,_ she reminded herself.

But then it turned to face her, and Chloe relaxed at the sight of the wolf's eyes. _Derek's eyes._ There was no mistaking that brilliant shade of green.

"Derek?" she whispered. The wolf blinked at her, then lowered his glossy black head. She took that to be a nod.

"This is…" She trailed off, staring at him in awe. "This is incredible. Are you… still you?"

The wolf snorted, as if to say, _'Course I am._ He padded over to her. She reached out tentatively to sink her fingers into his fur. It felt warm and rough. Comforting, somehow. The wolf closed his eyes sleepily.

"I knew it," she said smugly. "I knew you wouldn't hurt me. You couldn't."

Derek backed up. His muzzle found the bruises on her arm and he whined. It was a short, miserable sound. Chloe stared. She hadn't known Derek was capable of showing such emotion – especially towards her. Perhaps it was easier for him in this form, in these surroundings. Now she knew everything. He didn't have to hold back.

"That was an accident. It scared me, but… you didn't mean to hurt me and I know that now. Besides…" She thought about the dead cat she'd raised and shuddered. "We've all done things we're not proud of."

Derek made a rumbling noise that seemed to start deep within his chest, almost like a wolfie version of a purr. He bumped her side. _Thank you,_ his eyes seemed to say.

She leaned into him, inhaling the warm, woodsy smell of his fur. She suddenly felt exhausted as the events of the last hour overwhelmed her.

"You're welcome," she whispered as her eyes drooped shut.


	9. Chapter Nine

Chloe woke to find her face pressed into a thick wall of fur.

For a moment, she allowed herself to enjoy the warm, safe lethargy that came with waking. Her eyelids drooped lazily closed again as she nestled into the warm fur of the rumbling creature she rested on.

Then she remembered her surroundings and her eyes snapped open.

"Derek," she said tentatively, her voice higher than usual. "That still you?"

The wolf rumbled again, bushy tail thumping against the floor in apparent frustration. She looked at him. _Really_ looked. She must have rested for a few hours at least, because the room was lighter now, and she could see him clearer. There was no doubt in her mind that this was Derek, not some mindless monster. She'd heard all sorts of horror stories about werewolves in her Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons, but couldn't reconcile those words and images with the black wolf she'd fallen asleep beside. The wolf with those otherworldly green eyes she knew so well set into its long, thin face.

He whined a quiet, tense sound and Chloe drew back. "What is it?" she asked quickly. "What's wrong?"

The wolf opened his jaw, baring his teeth. A strangled growl escaped his throat and he huffed in frustration, slumping to the floorboards in defeat.

Chloe giggled. "What's the matter? Wolf got your tongue?" It was admittedly a lame joke, but at the wolf's attempted glare, she couldn't help but laugh harder. He raised himself up on his haunches and began to pace the room, occasionally swinging his muzzle in Chloe's direction, as if constantly surprised to see her there.

"Why are you cooped up in here?" she asked as he paced. His constant movement was making her restless. "I mean… you're not dangerous or anything, are you?"

Derek stopped pacing. He swung his snout left, then right, in an awkward approximation of a head-shake.

"Well then – oh," she said, as the final pieces of the puzzle slotted into place. "This is your first change since you started taking Davidoff's potions, isn't it?"

The wolf stared at her for a long while before he lowered his head slowly. _Yes._

"So you've been coming down here ever since you started your Changes?" She looked around the dusty room with its rotten floorboards and broken furniture and felt a rush of sympathy towards Derek. She couldn't imagine subduing her nature to hide a secret so monumental. Werewolves were wild, dangerous creatures. Confined, a werewolf became scared and volatile. And yet, Derek had suffered through that fear, deliberately confining himself month after month to keep his fellow students safe. The sympathy she felt transformed into something else, a twisting warmth in her chest when she thought of Derek's surprising kindness. She breathed a sigh of relief that Derek's Change tonight had been different… and then quickly reminded herself that Davidoff could have just as easily killed Derek as helped him. Whatever Davidoff had planned for them, he wasn't conducting these experiments out of the kindness of his heart.

"You and I need to talk," she said out loud. "Once you've changed back. No secrets this time. If you want me to trust you, you have to tell me everything. Okay?"

The wolf looked at her, its – _no, his_ – eyes gleaming like a cats'. He bowed his head again. When he looked up, something in his expression moved her to crawl over to his side again. _Sorry,_ his eyes seemed to say. _I'm sorry I didn't trust you. I do now._

She rested her hand on his back, burying her fingers in surprisingly soft fur. His spine had changed shape but she remembered touching him like this as the Change began – her hand providing comfort and support as his back tensed, sweat coating his skin. For some reason this memory brought a fierce blush to her cheeks and she pulled her hand away.

The wolf looked at her questioningly, his head cocked to the side. She looked away and started talking, stumbling over the words, but determined to get them out. He had promised her honesty – now she would give him the same.

"I… summoned something tonight," she admitted. "A dead cat. I'm not sure how and I know it shouldn't be possible without complex rituals and dark magic, but… I raised it and forced it to do my will. That's bad, right? If anyone finds out, I'll be expelled. And I'm not even sure _how_ I did it. What if I can't control it?"

Derek sat back on his haunches, and then leaned forward until he was lying on his stomach, his head inches from her lap. His eyes never strayed from hers as she spoke.

"I thought Davidoff's potion had worn off," Chloe said. "But maybe it didn't just block my powers. Maybe it awakened them somehow."

But even as she said the words, she knew they didn't make sense. Davidoff's potion had weakened Derek's power. Although he'd kept his strength and senses, his Change was now more similar to an animagus' transformation than a traditional werewolf's monthly curse. And a regular wolf was far less powerful than a werewolf.

If Davidoff was deliberately weakening their powers, why had Chloe's abilities suddenly flared up tonight? She thought of her mother's necklace, still in her pocket after she'd broken it beside the Whomping Willow's swaying branches. It had protected her, kept her power hidden. Was this her _natural_ power, then? And if so, why was her power so much stronger than she'd always been led to believe, so much stronger than even her Aunt Lauren had claimed it was?

She rocked forwards, cradling her head in her hands with a groan of frustration. Too many questions. Too many questions and not enough time to find the answers.

She felt something cold and wet nudge her hand. The wolf was still beside her, his snout at her head. He grumbled. _You okay?_ She wiped her eyes and nodded.

"I'm okay," she said. "Just thinking. It seems like the potion Davidoff gave me _was_ temporary. I don't think what happened tonight had anything to do with his experiments."

The wolf bowed his head again, as if in agreement. Then he rose and stumbled, knocking his muzzle against her leg. She laughed, but quickly stopped when he shook and let out a muted howl. This wasn't a clumsy mistake. He was changing back.

"Oh," she said in alarm, scrambling to her hands and knees. "I guess you probably want me to turn around this time, right?"

He huffed, his breathing already sounding laboured. She shifted so her back was to him, but stayed close. Gingerly, she reached backwards, gripping his paw in one of her hands. His breathing faltered and she felt him tense, but he didn't push her away.

This time, the Change seemed to go faster, though Chloe doubted it felt any easier. After a few minutes of listening to his agonising whines and clutching his hand as he dug his claws – and then, his nails – into the floorboards, she felt him slump down onto his side. His hand moved under hers for the first time since the fur had receded, and to her surprise, she felt him slowly entwine his fingers with hers.

She turned just enough to see his face. His cheek, shining with exhaustion, was pressed against the floor. His eyes were closed.

"Derek?" she whispered cautiously. She'd followed him into an underground passage, comforted him while he transformed, fallen asleep by his side and poured her heart out to him in the last few hours alone. And yet, now she found herself nervous and uncomfortable around him again. He opened his eyes and blinked up at her, not moving. Then he rolled onto his side and his hand slipped out of hers. He blinked again, his forehead creasing in confusion, like he didn't even remember clutching her hand in the first place.

She looked away again, acutely aware of his clothing predicament. She waited without moving while he stood and dressed, until she heard the clink of a belt and knew it must be safe to turn around.

Derek stood bare-chested, his jeans low on his hips. Chloe's mind froze for a few seconds as she stared up at him. She'd never thought of Derek as ugly exactly, but… well, she hadn't expected _this_. She'd hardly paid attention to his state of undress earlier, knowing that he was in trouble. Now that he wasn't halfway through a Change, she couldn't _help_ but notice his physique. She'd never seen a guy their age so… well-toned. This was what he was hiding under his baggy clothing. He stretched, rolling his shoulders and she looked away quickly.

"Y-your shirt," she said shakily. "It's… it's a-around here somewhere…"

But by the time she'd turned back, he was already dressed in shirt, jeans and robes, tugging on the dark boots he'd kicked off when the Change first began.

"Bathroom," he said as he tied the laces. He didn't look up. "We have to get you to a bathroom."

She stared down at him, still feeling slightly dazed, like she'd been knocked in the head with Rae's beater's bat. "Um… what?"

He raised his head, meeting her eyes for the first time since he'd pulled away from her. "Chloe," he said in a gruff voice not dissimilar to the growls he'd made as a wolf, "You need to get to a bathroom. You're covered in blood."

Startled, Chloe looked down at herself. He was right, although 'covered' was a bit of an overstatement. If anything covered her pyjamas, it was dirt. She was filthy from head to toe. She'd also scraped her hands and knees some time during the night, and dried blood had stiffened her sleeves and pyjama legs.

"Oh," she said blankly. She must look a mess. For some reason, looking so tattered and grimy in front of Derek bothered her.

He stood up and looked at her. Wordlessly, he raised his wand and began to siphon off the worst of the dirt. It didn't help much. After a minute, he gave up and pulled off his Ravenclaw robes, holding them out to her.

"Come on," he said as he made his way to the passage entrance in two long strides. She followed, tugging the robes around her shoulders as she did so. They were too big and too heavy on her, but they were warm and smelled earthy.

They walked in silence up the tunnel that had taken them underground. When they reached ground level, Derek levitated a fallen twig and used it to immobilise the tree. She clutched the pendant in her pocket and looked around warily, but no ghosts followed them back to the castle. Her banishment seemed to be lasting at least for the night.

When they reached the main entrance, Chloe cast a new disillusionment charm on them both. They slipped through the door, discovering that the charms were still down.

"My dad," Derek explained in a hushed voice. "He's in charge of keeping up the wards tonight. Every night that I have to Change, he makes sure that I'm able to escape."

Chloe had assumed that Derek would lead them both back to the Hall, but the night wasn't over yet. He gestured towards the staircase and they both crept up it, mindful of the vanishing step that neither of them wanted to find themselves caught in tonight.

Derek led them to a statue of a confused-looking wizard on the fifth floor. She recognised this corridor immediately as the one Derek had taken her to just a few nights ago, when they'd been interrupted by the school-wide announcement to congregate in the Great Hall. He tapped the door beside the statue with his wand and muttered a few words she couldn't make out. Then the door was opening and he was ushering her inside and she found herself in the grandest, most opulent bathroom she had ever seen.

"Prefect's bathroom," Derek said by way of explanation. "Simon and I use it as a place to talk in private. And we both need to get cleaned up." He turned away from her and grabbed a cloth from the marble countertops circling the large pool in the centre of the room. He dipped it into the water and started scrubbing at his face.

Chloe marvelled at the size and beauty of the room for a few moments longer. It really was a masterpiece, and she felt a pang of sadness and jealousy at the thought that so few Hogwarts students were allowed the chance to see it. Still gazing at the stained-glass windows, the huge brass taps and the shining marble pool, she grabbed another towel and dipped it into the water beside Derek. She let the cool water trickle down her face and neck, sighing in relief. After days of being cooped up in the Great Hall with everybody else, it felt good to be clean.

"Chloe?" Derek asked hesitantly as they stood side by side.

"Mm-hmm?"

"About what you said while I was…" He trailed off and wet the cloth again. "While I was Changing. It's not true. You've got a natural gift for necromancy, that's all. You're a necromancer. It's in your blood, like lycanthropy is in mine. That doesn't make you a monster. It just means that you're… different."

Chloe raised her eyebrows. "Are you saying you'd be happy with my power?"

Derek shrugged. "It saved you from the Whomping Willow, didn't it?"

She took a step back. "I don't need a pep talk, Derek. Especially not one that you don't even believe yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I saw you tonight. That wasn't a normal werewolf change. Maybe you've managed to convince yourself that you're comfortable with being _different_ , but you had to have been either incredibly self-sacrificing or incredibly stupid to agree to Davidoff's sick experimentation. Which tells me that you don't care much about your own safety. You're not as comfortable with being different as you pretend to be."

He shook his head. "This has nothing to do with me."

"It's got everything to do with you. The first time you spoke to me, you warned me to stay away from Simon if I was going to continue taking potions from Davidoff. Hypocritical, much?"

He glowered. "I'm just trying to figure out Davidoff's game plan so I can help my dad. I didn't know what you knew or what you were. I didn't want you near Simon because I didn't know if I could trust you."

 _So you_ do _trust me now?_ she wanted to ask. But something else he'd said stopped her in her tracks.

"Your dad?" she asked, so surprised that she forgot to be angry with him. "What… what does any of this have to do with your dad?"

Derek didn't answer. He just stood there, glowering at her as if hoping that she'd back off if he tried his best to go back to being hostile towards her. But she was done with this game. It was time for her to hear the whole truth. After all they'd been through, she wouldn't accept anything less.

"Derek," she protested, crossing her arms and glaring straight back at him. "This is getting ridiculous. Do you trust me, or not?"

His eyes, which had been narrowed into slits, widened at her words. Then his scowl faded. He pushed his hair back with a long, deep sigh that seemed to be made up of years of worry and anger and frustration. When he spoke now, his voice was still deep, but the gruffness of his tone was gone, replaced by something softer.

"Davidoff's holding something over him. A secret, I guess. Dad won't tell us what – he thinks it's safer that we don't know. Dad's job, our lives… everything's at stake. If we could just find proof of Davidoff's crimes, we'd have something to hold over him. A bunch of kids shouting accusations isn't enough – he practically runs the school, and he's Professor St. Cloud's right-hand man. We need hard evidence."

"I see," said Chloe. She felt hollow. "So you didn't really want to help me at all. You don't really care about what Davidoff's doing. You just want to find something to blackmail him with. You're using me just as he did."

Derek looked horrified. "What? No –"

Chloe couldn't believe she'd been so stupid. "You could have just told me all of this from the start," she said. "At least then I would have known where I stood."

"Chloe," Derek said in a low rumble. "You're missing the point –"

"You approached me because you knew I was one of Davidoff's subjects and you thought I might have a power useful to you. Correct?"

"Well, yeah, but –"

"You tried to threaten me, hoping that I'd be impressed by your act, that I'd realise you would make a better ally than an enemy and see you as someone who could protect me. Then you hoped I'd spill all of Davidoff's secrets and share some vital clue to taking him down –"

"I didn't –"

"And when I refused, you warned me to stay away from Simon, hoping that you could trick me into thinking that Simon was in danger, that Davidoff wanted to hurt him –"

"YES!" Derek roared. Chloe took a step back as he loomed over her, his eyes blazing. "Yes! I admit it, all right? I did all those things. But you…" He trailed off. Both were silent for a moment, breathing heavily as though the heavy words that had come between them were now pressing down on them. When Derek spoke again, he sounded exhausted.

"I was wrong about you," he said. "When you confronted me in the library the next day, I kept my cool, waited for you to confess everything. I thought you'd cracked. But then…" he stared determinedly at the tiled floor and to Chloe's surprise she saw his cheeks flush pink. "As we spoke I realised what you were. A necromancer." Chloe winced. "And I saw that you genuinely had no clue what Davidoff had planned for you, but you weren't afraid. It just made you determined to find answers. Like me."

He looked up at her almost shyly, his eyes vivid in the pre-dawn light. And despite her anger, Chloe felt a stirring ache in her chest. It felt as though every feeling she'd ever felt – excitement and nervousness and longing and fear – had all risen up at once and rolled into a tight ball which now hit her heart like a wrecking ball. She trembled under the new weight, not understanding what it meant or why it had suddenly arrived.

"I'm… sorry," he mumbled so quietly she could hardly hear it. She had a sense that those words were difficult for him to say, that he'd spoken them very few times in his life. The weight in her chest grew heavier.

"Derek," she said cautiously, "I – I know Professor Bae isn't your real father, but I'm sure whatever secret Davidoff's holding over him, he wouldn't want you putting your safety on the line for him."

Derek's jaw clenched. "You sound like Simon," he muttered.

"Well, Simon talks a lot of sense," she countered.

"It was worth it," he said now. "That Change… it was worth any risk."

"Don't say that."

"Chloe," he said, "you know what most werewolves are like. You've seen the pictures in the Daily Prophet."

Chloe had. She shuddered. When she closed her eyes, Fenrir Greyback's deranged eyes stared back at her. She'd never seen him in person, of course. But every witch and wizard had heard of him. He'd been on the front page of the Prophet a few months ago. Just the sight of him had terrified her.

When she opened her eyes, Derek was slumped against the sinks in a rare display of despair. His too-long hair hung lank and limp across his face.

"I just… I don't want to turn into one of them." He turned to look at her, green eyes bright. "You know the worst part of being a werewolf? I have these… instincts. A wolf-like nature. It's not a voice in the back of my head or anything. It's part of who I am. But once the transformation starts, the wolf takes over. I lose myself. Or… the rest of me. Last night…" His eyes gleamed even brighter for a moment as he remembered it. "I was me. The wolf instincts were there too, like they always are. But I didn't lose myself. Davidoff's methods are sick and wrong, but he's done what he promised. He…" Derek paused, before admitting grudgingly, "He's helped me."

Chloe said nothing. She felt almost grateful to Davidoff for his illicit mixture of muggle medicine and magic. Tonight's transformation had been... life-changing for Derek.

 _Not out of the kindness of his heart_ , she reminded herself. Davidoff was helping Derek for his own gain, nothing more. He was risking Derek's life even as he helped him.

"Come on," she said, turning away from him. "It's nearly dawn. We'd better get back."

Derek nodded. He threw the towel he was still clutching to the floor, then cleared his throat. "Chloe," he said in a gravelly voice. "I just wanted to say… I mean… well… thanks. For everything."

She stared at him. "Don't mention it," she said, her own voice sticking in her throat like treacle.

He stood there, staring at her for a moment longer. Then he nodded and stepped aside, gesturing for her to lead the way back to the Hall.

* * *

"So you found him mid-Change?" Simon asked, sounding awe-struck. "And you _didn't_ run screaming in the opposite direction?"

Derek snorted. "No. She stayed so she could yell at me some more." He caught Chloe's eye. "Yelling at me seems to be a hobby of yours."

Simon whistled. "Damn, Saunders. I'm not sure whether that counts as bravery or stupidity."

Chloe laughed. "Probably a bit of both. I wasn't exactly thinking clearly."

They'd met up with Simon as soon as the sun rose, and the three of them were now huddled together by the giant hourglasses which recorded house points. They hadn't bothered with a silencing spell – the Hall was practically empty now. At breakfast, Professor Vasic had announced that the students were free to leave. Liz still hadn't been found, but classes were due to start back up after lunch and everyone was miserable and restless, having spent the entire weekend cooped up together. Now, the grounds were packed, filled with students whooping for joy at their first taste of fresh air in two days. Chloe hoped no one would find the mangled body of the cat she'd raised last night.

Derek had filled Simon in on most of what had happened last night – leaving out Chloe's accidental summoning and the fight they'd had in the bathroom. Simon had listened with awe as Derek recounted his new Change – and when he admitted that Davidoff's experiments were responsible, he'd whacked his brother over the head with surprising force. Clearly, Simon cared about his brother just as much as Derek cared about him. Chloe had kept quiet as the two brothers held the same hushed argument about Derek's safety that she'd had with him only a few hours before. Simon only dropped the subject when Derek agreed – albeit reluctantly – that he wouldn't take any more potions from Davidoff if he didn't know what the consequences would be.

Once Simon's anger had abated though, he seemed disappointed that he'd missed out on the adventure. "Next time," he said, nudging Chloe, "wake me up before you go charging after this oaf, all right?"

"Well, how about tonight?" Chloe said, surprised to hear her voice sound so steady. "I want to break into Davidoff's office."

Both boys stared at her blankly.

"Tonight?" Simon asked. "Why tonight?"

"That's not a good idea, Chloe," Derek said slowly. "His guard will be up now that the school is up-and-running again. And if Liz's disappearance really does have something to do with him, he's had plenty of time in the last few days to dispose of the evidence. It's unlikely that he would have left anything incriminating."

"But that's exactly why we've got to go tonight," Chloe protested. "While there's still a chance, even if it is faint. If we wait a week or two, there won't be _anything_ to find. Plus, you said yourself that these experiments are his life's work. He wouldn't have destroyed them on the off-change that someone searched his office for Liz. If anything, he'd have just moved or hidden them with an enchantment."

Simon nodded. "She's right, Derek. And we can be sneaky. He'll be expecting Dad, or one of the other professors. He won't be expecting three kids. We can use that to our advantage."

Derek looked at Chloe. "You don't have to come with us," he said. "You're not involved."

She stared right back. "Yes, I am."

Simon looked back and forth between them. Chloe waited for Derek to argue, but he surprised her by nodding. "Okay," he said in a soft voice, averting his eyes from hers. "You're in."

Simon raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

"We'll have to have one person keeping watch while the other two search," Derek said, all business once more. "I think of the three of us, I'm the most qualified for bodyguard duty."

Simon and Chloe nodded in agreement.

"One of you will need to get through whatever enchantments Davidoff's placed on the office." Derek turned to Chloe. "Are you up for that?"

She nodded. "And being half-blood, I have a few other tricks up my sleeve. Like how to pick a lock."

Simon looked surprised and impressed. "You can pick a lock? That is _so cool_." Derek just gave her a half-smile, like this information didn't surprise him in the slightest.

"And one of us will have to put Davidoff's wards back into place when we leave," Derek continued. "Simon, you should do that. You're good at Charms."

Simon flashed Chloe a sly grin. "Must be all that natural charm I have," he said, nudging her with his elbow. She rolled her eyes and nudged him back, both of them smiling. Derek scowled and waited for them to turn their attention back to him.

"C'mon," he said, climbing to his feet. "If we're going to do this, we need to plan it carefully. Very carefully. Somewhere more private."

"Prefect's bathroom, again?" Chloe asked, but Derek shook his head.

"Everyone's been packed in this hall for days – they're going to want to clean up. Don't worry. I know another place." He led them through the hall. Simon and Chloe followed.

"Knowing Derek," he said, "He'll want a plan so carefully drawn-out that I'll have to storyboard our every move."

Chloe laughed. "Like muggles do for movies!"

"Right," Simon said with a grin. "What do you say, movie girl? Want to help me choreograph tonight's scene? You know, it would make an awesome radio show, too." He cleared his throat and put on an exaggerated stage-whisper, like the voices of the radio hosts Chloe had heard on the Wizarding Wireless Network. " _Tune in weekly for the misadventures of three young Hogwarts students as they face horrors unknown in the attempt to take down their evil professor and foil his wicked plans once and for all!_ "

Chloe laughed and even Derek cracked a smile. And so caught up were they in Simon's exaggerated impressions, that not one among them saw the dark-haired girl hovering at the bottom of the staircase and watching their ascent with a sly smile on her face.


End file.
